The 4 Major Exhibitions Marking the National Portrait Gallery Re-Opening This Year
Including displays of pioneering female photographers and never-before-seen portraits of The Beatles.
Following the closing of the National Portrait Gallery in St Martin’s Place, London, in Spring 2020, the museum is reopening its door in June 2023 with a lineup of four major exhibitions. The National Portrait Gallery temporarily closed due to the “Inspiring People” project, which has been carrying a complete re-presentxation of the collection, combined with a noteworthy building refurbishment, the creation of public spaces, a new visitor entrance, a public forecourt and Learning Center.
The National Portrait Gallery’s reopening and its program are supported by Bank of America, Bloomberg Philanthropies, CHANEL Culture Fund, Herbert Smith Freehills and Taylor Wessing. Furthermore, the “Inspiring People” project has been made possible by grants from the Blavatnik Family Foundation, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Garfield Weston Foundation and the Ross Foundation. The upcoming exhibitions will showcase the best of photography, painting and drawing.
The first exhibition to open as part of the gallery’s exciting 2023 program is “Yevonde: Life and Color,” which examines the illustrious life and career of the twentieth-century photographer, Yevonde, who pioneered the use of color photography in the 1930s. The exhibition will begin on June 22 and finish on October 15.
In the week that follows the reopening, the National Portrait Gallery will present “Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm,” which will share, for the first time, an extraordinary archive of rediscovered and never-before-seen photographs taken by the English musician. The exhibition will open from June 28 until October 1.
As part of the autumn program, the gallery will see the return of “David Hockney: Drawing from Life,” from November 2 until January 1, 2024. The exhibition explores the artist’s work over the last six decades through his intimate portraits of five sitters: his mother, Celia Birtwell, Gregory Evans, Maurice Payne and the artist himself.
At last, the National Portrait Gallery’s annual Photographic Portrait Prize renamed the “Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize,” will be on display from November 9 until February 25, 2024. The show exhibits the work of some of the most exciting and cutting-edge contemporary photographers.
For more information, visit the National Portrait’s Gallery website.
