The Collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London, embraces over 500 years of British history, more than 60,000 sitters and explores ideas of social change, power and influence. Arguably as powerful and influential as any individual are the heads of state and empire, whose portraits are among the most popular in the Gallery_s Collection. For the exhibition that accompanies this book, the portraits of kings, queens, statesmen and stateswomen featured will go on tour for the first time, providing international audiences with the opportunity to encounter these famous historical and contemporary personalities face to face. The publication traces major events in British history and examines the ways in which royal portraiture has reflected individual sitters_ personalities and wider social, cultural and historical change. Works are arranged chronologically in sections, each of which is prefaced by an introductory text and timeline providing context to the period in question. Particularly significant portraits from each period are ac companied by extended captions that provide key information on the sitter and the artist. Tudors to Windsors also considers how each dynasty has been perceived and interpreted subsequently, with reference to popular culture and contemporary sources. A number of features on topics such as Royal Favourites, Royal Weddings, Satire, Royals at War, and Royal Fashion and Jewellery provide insights into particular aspects of royal portraiture and trends within the genre. The publication includes a foreword by the Gallery_s Director, a fully illustrated introductory essay discussing royal patronage and key artists in royal portraiture, and an essay by David Cannadine on the historical role of the monarchy in Britain.

Anglophiles and students of portraiture will find that The Royal Portrait fills a surprising void in the literature, as Scott (Royal Collection) presents for the first time a survey of British portraits housed in the various venues of the Royal Collection. The broad scope ranges from Richard II (the first British king portrayed) to Queen Elizabeth II; the latter monarch, along with Queen Victoria, is the subject of an independent chapter, while other chapters focus on images of royals from a particular dynastic house, such as the Stuart and the Hanoverian. Through an interesting selection of diverse media and formats employed in different periods, Scott explores the central question of "what constitutes a royal portrait?" The answers are multifaceted and contingent on such factors as patronage, function, royal control, and artistic intention; nevertheless symbolic visual conventions can still be traced in the representations of British monarchs over the centuries. This is a clearly written, well-illustrated survey; for more in-depth analyses of particular works one will need to turn to specialized sources, e.g., D. Howarth's Images of Rule (1997). Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty; general readers. General Readers; Lower-division Undergraduates; Upper-division Undergraduates; Graduate Students; Researchers/Faculty. Reviewed by J. K. Dabbs.

Drawing on the outstanding collection of the National Portrait Gallery, this volume celebrates the variety and complexity of portraiture The National Portrait Gallery holds the world's most extensive collection of portraits: a museum of people, a gallery of stories and ideas, and a home of artistic masterpieces. Icons and Identitiesdraws together icons from Shakespeare to Audrey Hepburn alongside less well-known sitters that provide insight into the representation of identity in portraits. It also includes some intriguing surprises to reflect the diversity of the National Portrait Gallery's collection and to introduce audiences around the world to exceptional portraits of many kinds. Icons and Identitiesshows how artists, working across mediums, have revealed the visually stimulating and intellectually vibrant tradition of portrait making. The book is structured around a series of key themes and each section includes a selection of works from a range of periods. Artists include: Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough, Andy Warhol, Marlene Dumas and Shirin Neshat.

.Includes entertaining, thumbnail biographies of the key figures at the forefront of the theme or movement, or who were closely connected to the personality in question .Updated from the highly successful seriesCharacter SketchesandInsights, and refreshed with a contemporary design and accessible format The ideal of the 'inspired' artist owes its origin to the figures of the Romantic period, who revolutionized English art and literature. In this book, Richard Holmes explores the portraits and lives of such key poets as Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Keats, and assesses the impact of their work on contemporary culture and society.

This book provides a unique opportunity to see an inspiring range of portraits from contemporary photographers selected from thousands of submissions. The works included are not only about the sitters, but also reveal the outstanding skill of the photographers in capturing a moment in time and conveying something of the spirit of those photographed. This year's In Focus display will be the sixth in the competition's history, exhibiting works by Alessandra Sanguinetti, a photographer known for evocative works that focus on the fantasies and fears that accompany the physical and psychological transition from childhood to adulthood. Her works will be shown in the exhibition and a number of these are reproduced in the catalogue, accompanying an interview about the photographer's life and work. Fully illustrated in colour throughout, the book also features all the selected entries with extended captions, comments and insights from the judges and interviews with the prizewinners.

With just under a thousand portraits of Queen Elizabeth II, the National Portrait Gallery boasts some of the most treasured and famous official portraits of the Queen captured at key historic moments, as well as day-to-day images of the monarch at home and with family, following her journey from childhood, to princess and Queen, mother and grandmother. This publication highlights the most important portraits of Elizabeth II from the Gallery's Collection. Paintings and photographs from the birth of Elizabeth II to the present will take readers on a visual journey through the life of Britain's foremost icon. 0The book will reflect on the Queen's life, presenting family photographs alongside important formal portraits to explore how, as her reign became record-breaking, she became an iconic figure in modern British culture and history. The publication features works by key artists depicting the Queen from 1926 to the present day, including Baron, Cecil Beaton, Dorothy Wilding, Patrick Lichfield, Andy Warhol, Annie Leibovitz and David Bailey. 0This book features an introductory essay by Alexandra Schulman, exploring how the collected portraits depict the Queen throughout her life and reign, and a timeline of key historical events and moments from Elizabeth II's life.