National Portrait Gallery 2023-24 Exhibition Programme

The National Portrait Gallery has been closed since June 2020 (see National Portrait Gallery not reopening - until 2023) but the NPG has finally announced it is reopening this summer -  on 22 June 2023.

It's also announced its planned programme of exhibitions in the 12 months after it opens.

I'm listing these below - but splitting them between Art and Photography - and I'm ordering the exhibitions by the date the exhibition opens rather than the prominence of the sitter/artist or likely popularity of the exhibition

Painted Portraits

David Hockney: Drawing From Life

2 November 2023 – 21 January 2024 (postponed from when it opened just prior to the Pandemic. I've already seen it!)

Explore the artist’s work over the last six decades through his new works and intimate portraits of five sitters: his mother, Celia Birtwell, Gregory Evans, Maurice Payne and the artist himself.

Celia, Carennac, August 1971 by David Hockney © David Hockney,

Colored pencil on paper,

Photo Credit: Richard Schmidt

Collection The David Hockney Foundation

The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure

22 February – 19 May 2024

Curated by Ekow Eshun, this is a major survey of African diasporic artists working in the UK and America, featuring works by Michael Armitage, Lubaina Himid, Kerry James Marshall, Toyin Ojih Odutola and Amy Sherald (amongst others).

Photographic Portraits

Photographic portrait exhibitions Summer 2023

Yevonde: Life and Colour

22 June – 15 October 2023

The first exhibition to open as part of the Gallery’s 2023 programme will explore the life and career of twentieth century photographer, Yevonde, who pioneered the use of colour photography in the 1930s. Supported by the CHANEL Culture Fund, this exciting show will survey the portraits and still-life works that the artist produced throughout her sixty year career, positioning Yevonde as a trailblazer in the history of British portrait photography.

Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm

28 June – 1 October 2023

This unprecedented exhibition will share, for the first time, an extraordinary archive of rediscovered and never-before-seen photographs taken by Paul McCartney. Shot during the period in which John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were propelled from being the most popular band in Britain to an international cultural phenomenon, the exhibition provides a uniquely personal perspective on what it was like to be a ‘Beatle’ at the start of ‘Beatlemania’. Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize

9 November 2023 – 25 February 2024

Showcasing work from the most exciting and cutting-edge contemporary photographers, the competition is open to everyone aged 18 and over - from talented amateurs to seasoned professionals.