WHAT? Yevonde: Life and Colour

WHERE? The National Portrait Gallery, St. Martin’s Place, London WC2H OHE

WHEN? Now until 15th October, Gallery open permanently again

WHY GO? To be in the picture. Closed since Spring 2020 and ceremoniously reopened on 22nd June to the tune of a £41 million re-development, the transformed National Portrait Gallery still houses the most extensive collection of portraits in the world and is now bigger, grander and more accessible than ever.

Renowned and loved, it’s the talk of the town to have this famous London landmark back on the art circuit, and opens up with the first major exhibition of an intriguing English photographer, Yevonde (Middleton) who started out as a suffragette which ironically lead her into the society world of debutantes as she worked for magazines like Tatler throughout the Thirties.  It is a stunning portrayal of a progressive woman who pioneered colour photography, dabbled in creative montage work and fully embraced the commercial world, shooting for renowned advertising clients. There could hardly be a more appropriate launch exhibition for the new Portrait Gallery, as her work includes almost every famous face of the era, from Diana Mitford to Louis Mountbatten, but she claimed, rather unexpectedly, that her favourite sitter was George Bernard Shaw whom she lit with magical depth.

Yevonde died in 1975 at the age of 82, what a legend! 

IN THE KNOW Celebrating the grand reopening, the First Look Festival, on now until 2nd July, offers up a juicy serving of in-person art related events and talks with names as famous as Paul McCartney and Stanley Tucci. 

Check the website for details and watch out for the next opening, The Portrait Restaurant by Richard Corrigan, due to open on 5th July.