My daughter mentioned that they were studying portraits at school (she is in year 8 – 12-13 year olds) and so I thought that this would be an ideal time for another trip to the National Portrait Gallery. We had last been there a few years back when her brother (who’s now at University) had been learning about the Tudors – nothing like a big picture of Henry Eighth to bring the bloke to life – especially surrounded by portraits of all his queens.
Anyway, it’s a particularly good time to make the trek into Central London – there is now the Olympic clock ticking away in Trafalgar Square – a little bit of history in the making. You can also tackle the trip on a Friday evening as the Late Shift programme means that the gallery, like many in London, stays open until 9pm.
Once you walk through the revolving doors you have to climb some steps up to the ground floor. On this level there are the contemporary portraits – and a good place for kids to play “spot the celebrity”. There’s a new picture of Marianne Faithfull – middle aged dads will recognise her. Mums will be delighted to see that Miranda is also a recent addition. Looking rather regal in her trademark turban in a pseudo classic painting is founder of the children’s charity Camila Batmanyhelidjh. Teenagers will enjoy the pop art version of Blur.
The Jamaican opera singer Sir Willard White looks rather splendid – and whilst the portrait was only produced in 2009, he looks incredibly youthful. His recent appearance on Dancing on Ice is strikingly different from his formal, uniformed image of Johnson Bhary – honoured with the Victoria Cross. My personal favourite, although not in terms of the politics, is the picture of Neil and Glynis Kinnock. It’s done in acrylics but looks a little like a photo it is so realistic and the depth is incredible – like a 3D painting. Get the kids to have a look at his hands.
At present there’s an exhibition of Ida Kar’s black and white photographs of famous artists, musicians, sculptures and writers. Not likely to keep the attention of the kids for long so probably only worth paying the £3.50 admission if they are a bit older. She originally showed her work in Whitechapel in the 1960s and was part of the Bohemian scene. Actually, I thought it was pretty neat to see what some of those famous folk looked like – posed within their studios or alongside their works. I liked “Le Corbusier”, an architect, and also Cecil Beaton in his conservatory. I smiled at the picture of John Lathan, a cliché artist pose – with a beard, a dark top and clutching his cat. There were some pictures too based around St Ives in 1961 – there was a lovely image of artist Terry Frost in his studio which looks out over the beach. And you can’t help but notice that someone, just outside the canvas, is holding a rope to keep the window open.
Back to the central area and up the huge escalator to the third floor to see the Tudor Gallery. I suspect that the attention span of the small ones will be limited up here as there are so many pictures here – which may look rather similar to a small person - so be selective as there is so much on this floor. I always used to whizz my little ones to the most famous people – Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and King Charles II. One of my favourites, because it shows all those Lords in their bright red gowns and their legal wigs, is the Death of the Earl of Chatham. Very dramatic.
There is, of course, lots more to see. I was a little disappointed at the “Ballet in Focus” exhibit – I am sure that there must be lots of fabulous portraits of famous ballerinas to really inspire little girls – but those on display were rather small and lacklustre. The area around the Camden Town and Beyond display had a few gems that might interest the small folk. Like the large portrait of the bright red hair and yellow dress of Dame Anna Neagle – the original Essex girl made good. Bernard Montgomery looks rather impressive too and if they are into history there’s Wallis, Duchess of Windsor and Winston Churchill. There are some nice sculptures in this area too – although rather tempting to a small person who tends to look with their hands. And the wonderful soft colours of the painting of Beatrix Potter always make me smile.
So. It’s free and it’s close to Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square so you can easily squeeze in a short visit on your way to something a little livelier, and it’s a great place to stop if there’s a sudden downpour too.
