Untitled Document

Sunday 4th April 2004

The National Portrait Gallery

"Then it was on to the National Portrait Gallery in Trafalgar Square
to see the Cecil Beaton Exhibition
He took lots of photos of royals and society people and Hollywood stars
The pictures were all black and white and lovely
I loved the shots of the society ladies from the 30's and the movie stars
The black and white shots of
Marilyn Munro, Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor, etc,
were all fantastic"

St. Martin's Place
off Trafalgar Square
London WC2H 0HE

The National Portrait Gallery
Was founded in 1856 to collect pictures of royal and political figures.
Today its collection of paintings, drawings, engravings, photographs and sculpture records the development of Britain from the late 14th century to the present day through portraits of its most prominent characters.
For a chronological tour start on the top floor and work downwards.
Highlights of the collection include a cartoon of Henry VIII by Hans Holbein, the only surviving portrait of William Shakespeare taken from life, and works by such artists as Van Dyck, Reynolds, Gainsborough and Sargent.
The 20th century is represented in both paintings and photographs, musicians, such as Mike Jagger and Elton John, and fashion designers, like Mary Quant, mix with politicians and the Royal Family.
In 2000 the Tudor Gallery and Balcony Gallery was opened to provide space for the oldest and newest elements of the collection.
A new rooftop restaurant, with a great view over London, was added at the same time.
The National Gallery also has regular special exhibitions, admission charged.
The shop has a range of books on art and literature, along with prints, posters and cards featuring works from the main collection.

Tanya's admission ticket

Cecil Beaton (1904-1980) is one of the most celebrated British Portrait Photographers
of the Twentieth Century.

He is renowned for his images of elegance, glamour and style.

His influence on portrait photography was profound
and lives on today in the work of many contemporary photographers
including David Bailey and Mario Testino.

"Cecil Beaton - Portraits" marks the centenary of Beaton's birth
and coincides with a revival of interest in his work
occasioned in part by the publication of his unexpurgated diaries
and the recent release of Stephen Fry's film 'Bright Young Things'

This is the first major overview of Beaton's portraits
since Sir Roy Strong's ground-breaking exhibition
at the National Portrait Gallery in 1968.

This major retrospective exhibition brings together over 150 portraits
from the five remarkable decades of Beaton's career,
including iconic images as well as those never seen before.

Beaton captures 50 years of fashion, art and celebrity,
from the Sitwells in the 1920s to the Rolling Stones in the late 1960s.

Definitive portraits of 20th century celebrities are shown
alongside more sombre works from his time as a war photographer.

Highlights of the exhibition include Beaton`s 1956 portrait of Marilyn Monroe,
from her own collection, which is accompanied by his handwritten eulogy about her.

Pages from Beaton's snapshot album of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor's wedding,
showing idyllically situated portraits of Wallis Simpson
in the grounds of the Château de Candé, France,
are on public display for the first time.

Left - a poster of a photograph of Audrey Hepburn
taken from a Vogue sitting publicizing the film Sabrina in 1954
Right - poster of one of the images of Marilyn Monroe
taken from a shoot in Beaton's suite at the Ambassador Hotel in February 1956
The resulting photographs were published in magazines throughout the world

Marlene Dietrich (1935)

Marlon Brando (1946)

Marilyn Monroe (1956)

Twiggy at 8 Pelham Place (1967)