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Notes
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The artist began this portrait of J. K. Rowling in early 2004, when he paid several visits to the writer's Scottish home. Pearson Wright observed his subject, made sketches, sometimes while the author was at work, and took photographs for reference. Rowling is seated at a table, suggestive of the setting where the author famously wrote her first novel and where she occasionally still writes. The narrative alludes to Rowling's public and private self both as a writer, who has made an enormous impact on children's imaginations the world over, and as a mother – the eggs represent her own three children. Rowling's otherworldly youthful presence in a surreal and disconcertingly distorted space calls to mind another children's classic, Alice in Wonderland.
Title
J. K. Rowling
Date
2005
Medium
oil on board construction with coloured pencil on paper
Measurements
H 97.2 x W 72 cm
Accession number
6723
Acquisition method
Commissioned as part of the First Prize, BP Portrait Award, 2001, 2005
Work type
Painting
National Portrait Gallery, London
St Martin’s Place, London, Greater London WC2H 0HE England
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John Hurt National Portrait Gallery, London -
J. K. Rowling National Portrait Gallery, London -
Six Academy Presidents (Gallus Gallus with Still Life and Presidents) The British Academy -
Prince Philip (b.1921), HRH the Duke of Edinburgh Royal Society of Arts -
Adam Cooper National Portrait Gallery, London -
Diane Abbott, MP Parliamentary Art Collection
