National Portrait Gallery

“I came to appreciate the man behind the name ... I wanted the portrait to offer a snapshot of the stages of his short and impactful life, and to show how the individual parts informed the whole.”

Curtis Holder reflects on the process of creating this commissioned portrait of Terry Higgins, who was one of the first people in the UK to die of an AIDS-related illness.

For this portrait, the artist worked from personal photographs and memories shared by Rupert Whitaker, Higgins’s partner and one of the founding members of the Terrence Higgins Trust. The portrait depicts Higgins at three stages of his life, with the focus being a portrait of him as a young man in his prime, when he was healthy and happy and living in London. The other three iterations include him as a teenager and then in the last years of his life. In this portrait, he looks back at us over his shoulder.

Although Terrence Higgins’s name is widely known from the Trust, this portrait helps put a face, life and memories to the name. Terry Higgins was born in 1945.

Discover more about this work via our Schools hub resource: https://www.npg.org.uk/schools-hub/terry-higgins-by-curtis-holder

✏️ Terry Higgins ('Terry Higgins – Three Ages of Terry') by Curtis Holder, 2023 © Curtis Holder

"The first thing women must learn is to dress like ladies and behave like gentlemen."

Born in 1837, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson became the first female in Britain to qualify as a doctor...Despite opposition to the admission of women to medical education. A year later, she established a dispensary for women in London, which became the New Hospital of Women in 1871, where she instituted medical courses for women.

In 1883, she was appointed Dean of the London School of Medicine for Women (later the Royal Free). A pioneer for women's rights, in 1908 she was elected Mayor of Aldeburgh, becoming the first female mayor in England.

You can see this portrait in person now in Room 19 on Floor 2.

🎨 Elizabeth Garrett Anderson by John Singer Sargent, 1900 © National Portrait Gallery, London. Lent by Mrs Jennifer Loehnis, 2013

Edvard Munch drew this portrait of English violinist Eva Mudocci directly onto a lithographic stone. As a portrait, it evokes the abstract ideal of beauty epitomised by Pre-Raphaelite painters such as Dante Gabriel Rossetti with the vibrating lines of hair suggesting the hypnotic power of music 🎶

⭐ It's your last chance to see Edvard Munch Portraits, closing 16 June.

➡️ Limited availability — guaranteed entry as a Member

🎨 The Brooch. Eva Mudocci. Eva Mudocci (1872−1953), 1902 by Edvard Munch. Lithograph. © Private collection courtesy Peder Lund

You might have seen Tom Jones in our latest exhibition, The Face Magazine: Culture Shift, but have you seen the other portraits in our Collection?

Born in 1940, Tom Jones was a Welsh bricklayer and salesman before becoming an international singing sensation.

One of his first signals that brought him to prominence was It's Not Unusual (1964), followed by hits such as What's New Pussycat? (1965), Green Green Grass of Home (1966) and Delilah (1968). His career was revived in the late 1980s with A Boy From Nowhere (1987) and again in 1999 with the album Reload. He was knighted in 2006, and in 2010, his thirty-ninth album, Praise & Blame, reached number two in the UK Albums Chart. He experienced a resurgence in popularity in the 2010s after being featured as a judge on the talent show The Voice UK (2012–2015, 2017–present), and in May 2012, he released a new album, Spirit In The Room.

📸 Tom Jones by Trevor Leighton, 1989 © Trevor Leighton / National Portrait Gallery, London

Dancer and choreographer Berto Pasuka is our 🕺🏾

The celebrated performer relocated to London from Jamaica in 1939 at the age of 28, and in 1946 co-founded 'Les Ballets Nègres', Europe's first black dance company. The company's ground-breaking performances were well-received, they toured across the UK and Europe and even had shows broadcast on the BBC. Although the company disbanded in 1953 due to lack of support, their enduring impact is clear, with a tribute to 'Les Ballets Nègres' performed at the Royal Festival Hall in 1999.

📷 Berto Pasuka by Angus McBean, circa 1946 © estate of Angus McBean / National Portrait Gallery, London

The iconic dancer and singer Josephine Baker was born in 1906.

Hailing from Missouri, Baker discovered her passion for dance during her teenage years, joining touring dance groups and performing in musical comedies such as Shuffle Along. In 1925, she moved to Paris to pursue her career, and she went on to become one of the most beloved music-hall entertainers of her time. She performed at the most prestigious venues across town, including the Folies-Bergère, where she captivated crowds with her flamboyant personality and glamorous style, adorned in extravagant jewels and feathers.

During World War II, Baker collaborated with the Red Cross, earning her the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honour for her contributions to the war effort. In her later years, she received recognition for her charitable work and activism, frequently returning to the United States to take part in civil rights demonstrations.

📸 Josephine Baker by Murray Korman, 1936 © reserved; National Portrait Gallery, London

Saved for the nation 📢

Tate and the National Portrait Gallery have acquired a rare self-portrait by 17th-century British artist William Dobson.

Dobson was regarded as “the most excellent painter that England has yet produced.” He became Charles I’s official painter after Sir Anthony van Dyck's death and was known for his baroque portraits of Cavaliers during the English Civil War.

This self-portrait, created between 1635 and 1640, depicts Dobson as a young man before he joined the King’s court. It is notable for its honesty and intimacy. Dobson used thickly applied paint to present an almost bohemian image of himself, characterised by wild hair and a melancholy gaze, in stark contrast to the carefully posed elegance of his contemporaries.

The painting will be on free public display at Tate Britain in November, where it will be reunited with Dobson’s portrait of his wife. It will then tour the UK before being shown at the National Portrait Gallery alongside other notable self-portraits by 17th-century masters.

⭐ The acquisition is made possible thanks to exceptional support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, major support from Art Fund and the Deborah Loeb Brice Foundation, and additional support from the Portrait Fund, the Nicholas Themans Trust, Bjorn Saven CBE, David and Emma Verey Charitable Trust, John J. Studzinski CBE, The Leche Trust, The Murray Family, Tavolozza Foundation and other generous supporters.

🎨 William Dobson, Self-Portrait c.1635-40 Image courtesy of Tate and the National Portrait Gallery

It’s Pride Month in the UK, and we are celebrating with a fruity takeover for our series. Comment below with portraits you want to see.

Starting with...Gwen John.

Painted at 24 years old, this self-portrait of Gwen John is about confidence, with hands on her hip, an exuberant bow, and a filled picture frame. John was born in Wales in 1876 and is known for paintings of women, cats and interiors. Traditionally remembered for being a recluse and having a love affair with the sculptor Auguste Rodin, a more contemporary view reframes John as an independent woman who wrote love letters to others, including same-sex partners.

🎨 by Gwen John, circa 1900 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Did you know that a couple designed the London Eye?

Meet Julia Barbara Barfield and David Joseph Marks. They met as architecture students and developed a model-making practice before devising the design for the London Eye in response to a 1993 competition for millennium ideas.

📸 Julia Barbara Barfield; David Joseph Marks by Sarah Dunn, January 2000 © Sarah Dunn