New Exhibition at National Portrait Gallery: 18 by 12, opening 9th February 2011
Eighteen by Twelve, Recent Photographic Acquisitions - News Release from the NPG
4 February 2011
NEW PORTRAIT OF THE PRINCES AT NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY ALONGSIDE RONNIE CORBETT, TRACEY EMIN, M.I.A. AND BRIAN COX
A previously unseen portrait of Prince William and Prince Harry by Fergus Greer and a portrait of Tracey Emin by David Bailey will form part of a new display highlighting the photographs recently acquired by the National Portrait Gallery. Eighteen by Twelve: Recent Photographic Acquisitions from 7 February 2011 in Room 41a will show eighteen sitters by twelve contemporary photographers, all on display for the first time at the Gallery.
Every year the National Portrait Gallery acquires a diverse selection of photographic portraits which offer a visual reflection of contemporary British life and culture. The sitters in this display include recent portraits of popular scientist Brian Cox, poet Christopher Reid, actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Andy Serkis and Mackenzie Crook, and singer songwriter K T Tunstall. The display will also include contemporary singer M.I.A, Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, newspaper executive Rebekah Wade, comedian Ronnie Corbett, artist Frank Auerbach, and film director Terence Davies. The photographers represented range from established portrait photographers such as David Bailey and Fergus Greer to photographers whose works are represented in the Collection for the first time such as Kate Peters, Debra Hurford Brown, Richard Saker, Stuart Walker and Spencer Murphy.
Seen in the display for the first time is an informal double portrait of Princes William and Harry taken at The Commandants House at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Photographer Fergus Greer was commissioned by Clarence House to take the portrait in December 2006 in preparation for the Concert for Diana in 2007, but the photograph was not published. The portrait is only the second double portrait of the two Princes to enter the Gallery’s Collection, the first a formal commissioned portrait by artist Nicky Philipps unveiled in 2010.
The Photographs collection consists of more than 220,000 original photographic images dating from the 1840s to the present day. Founded in 1856, the aim of the National Portrait Gallery is to collect portraits of famous men and women who have made and are making British history and culture. Other recent photographic acquisitions can be explored through the New Portraits page of the Gallery’s website www.npg.org.uk
Notes for Editors:
◦The portraits included in the display are:
Andy Serkis by Spencer Murphy, 2009
Benedict Cumberbatch by Spencer Murphy, 2010
Brian Cox by Paul Wolfgang Webster, 7 July 2009
Carol Ann Duffy by Peter Everard Smith, August 2005
Christopher Reid by Jemimah Kuhfeld, April 2009
Frank Auerbach by Stuart Walker, 29 November 2007
Jane Goldman by Richard Saker, 4 March 2010
K T Tunstall by Kate Peters, 12 September 2010
Lee Evans by Debra Hurford Brown, 1998
M.I.A by Neil Gavin, March 2005
Paul Mackenzie Crook by Richard Cannon, 27 March 2009
Prince William of Wales; Prince Henry of Wales by Fergus Greer, December 2006
Rebekah Wade by Fergus Greer, March 2007
Ronnie Corbett by Debra Hurford Brown, 2006
Stephen Merchant by Spencer Murphy, 2010
Terence Davies by Richard Cannon, 9 December 2008
Tracey Emin by David Bailey, 2007
For further press information and image requests please contact: Eleanor Macnair, Press Office, National Portrait Gallery Tel: 020 7321 6620 (not for publication) Email: emacnair@npg.org.uk; To download images: www.npg.org.uk/press
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