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News from the National Portrait Gallery in London
A celebration of Americans and American
history through portraits from the painting and photographic collections
of our sister institution, the National Portrait Gallery in Washington
DC. Artists, such as John Singleton Copley, James Whistler, Mary Cassatt
and Alice Neel; and writers, such as Edith Wharton, Mark Twain, Henry
James, TS Eliot and John Updike will be represented alongside other notable
Americans such as Benjamin Franklin, Sequoyah, Davy Crockett, Nathaniel
Hawthorne, Henry Cabot Lodge, Edward Weston, Tallulah Bankhead, George
Gershwin and Lena Horne.
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National Portrait Gallery opening hours
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday: 10am- 6pm (Gallery closure
commences at 5.50pm)
Late Opening: Thursday, Friday: 10am - 9pm (Gallery closure commences
at 8.50pm)
Recorded information: 020 7312 2463 hsutherland@npg.org.ukGeneral information:
020 7306 0055
Website: www.npg.org.uk
For further press information please contact:
Hazel Sutherland,
Press Office,
National Portrait Gallery
Email hsutherland@npg.org.uk
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Focussing on the
lives of more than 150 men and women who have shaped American history, this
exhibition is drawn from the collections of our sister institution, the
National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. It represents a rich selection
of American heroes, writers, statesmen, inventors, educators, musicians,
artists and scientists. The National Portrait Gallery, London is the only
European venue for this outstanding exhibition.
Curated by NPG Washington's Dr Carolyn Kinder Carr, Deputy Director and
Chief Curator, and Dr Ellen G. Miles, Curator of Painting and Sculpture,
Americans brings together 70 paintings and 60 photographic images
with sitters ranging from Benjamin Franklin and Henry James, to Marilyn
Monroe and Michael Jackson. Together, these portraits comprise an unparalleled
overview of the contribution that individuals have made to American politics,
society and culture.
Dating from the 1720s to the 1990s, the images vary in style and technique,
from the sophisticated paintings of John Singer Sargent and the photographs
of Richard Avedon, to work by self-taught artists such as Thomas Badger
and William Elwell. Some portraits include details that tell us about the
sitter's accomplishments at first glance, whilst others benefit from insights
offered in contemporary descriptions and four mini-documentary films produced
and provided by The Biography Channel as part of their interactive support
of the exhibition.
The exhibition will be divided into sections - Independence, New Americans,
Freedom, A Social World, Americans Abroad, Men of Letters and 2Oth Century
Performing Arts.
Artists, such as John Singleton Copley, James McNeill Whistler, Mary Cassatt
and Alice Neel, and writers, including Edith Wharton, Mark Twain and John
Updike, are represented alongside other notable Americans such as Sequoyah,
Davy Crockett, Tallulah Bankhead, George Gershwin and Lena Horne. An exceptional
selection of photographs, only included in the London showing of the exhibition,
represents, amongst others, legendary American entertainers including Ingrid
Bergman, Spencer Tracy, Lucille Ball, Leonard Bemstein, Audrey Hepburn,
Louis Armstrong and Bill Cosby.
The portrait tradition in the United States of America is richly textured,
like the multi-faceted historical narrative it reflects. The paintings and
photographs in this exhibition suggest the diverse range of individuals
who have shaped the American experience, and introduce the stylistic variety
characteristic of portraits of Americans.
Commenting on their sponsorship, JPMorgan's Investment Bank Chairman, Walter
Gubert said: "JPMorgan has a long history of support for the arts, through
the personal collection of John Pierpont Morgan, and the JPMorgan Chase
Art Collection, initiated by David Rockefeller. JPMorgan is pleased to extend
its support for the arts by helping to bring the Americans exhibition to
London".
Publications
A fully-illustrated catalogue will be published in October 2002 with a preface
by John Updike and an introductory essay by Dr Carolyn Kinder Carr. 288
pages with over 140 illustrations. Price £12.95 (paperback). Additionally,
a large-format catalogue of the paintings in the exhibition will be available.
216 pages with over 80 illustrations. Price £30 (paperback).
Read a review of this by Liverpool Community
College's Barbara Marshall. |
