LondonTown.com: National Portrait Gallery takes another look at history this autumn


Released on: April 29, 2015, 7:25 am (EDT)
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Industry: Travel

New exhibition with TV historian Simon Schama reimagines aspects of collection.

LONDON, April 29, 2015 -- /EPR NETWORK/ -- The National Portrait Gallery in London has teamed up with one of the world's leading historians to create five new temporary displays within its permanent collections. Titled Simon Schama's The Face Of Britain, the displays will run from 16th September 2015 to 4th January 2016 and be staged throughout the gallery, with portraits from across the collection displayed for the first time by theme rather than chronology, taking a long view of the history of British portraits in each room. The National Portrait Gallery is the home of national portraiture, containing paintings of monarchs, politicians, soldiers and current celebrities. It is located in Trafalgar Square and for more advice on what to do in the area, and to find the best deals on cheap hotels in London, see LondonTown.com.

The new displays will coincide with the broadcast and publication of a new five-part TV series and book by Simon Schama called The Face of Britain. The project will reflect Simon Schama's innovative and challenging exploration of the development, character and meanings of British portraiture. Planned with the gallery's team of curators, each room in the display will comprise a cross-period selection in various media and, like each chapter and episode, will explore one of the following themes: Power, Love, Fame, People and Self.

Visitors will be able to see a wide range of British portraits from across the centuries, so Sir Winston Churchill and Baroness Thatcher might be seen alongside Elizabeth I (Power); Kenelm and Venetia Digby, with Rossetti and Jane Morris, a Lewis Carroll portrait of Alice Liddell and John Lennon and Yoko One (Love); Francis Drake and Thomas Carlyle with Amy Winehouse (Fame); a group of Suffragettes alongside boxers (People); and a self-portrait room combining Sir Joshua Reynolds, Hogarth and Self, created by Marc Quinn from his own blood. The displays will be integrated into a free gallery trail with between eight to twelve works in each of the five rooms, one room for each theme. For more information on this and other exhibitions at the National Portrait Gallery, see LondonTown.com.

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