The face of Britain : a history of the nation through its portraits

633 Pages·2016·345.77 MB·English

by  Schama

The Face of Britain
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The Face of Britain
A History of the Nation through Its Portraits
Simon Schama
1
1
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the
University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing
worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and
certain other countries.
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America.
© Simon Schama 2016
Images copyright © National Portrait Gallery, London, 2015,
unless otherwise stated on pages 547–61
BBC and the BBC logo are trade marks of the British Broadcasting
Corporation and are used under licence. Logo © BBC 1996.
The moral right of the copyright holders has been asserted
The epigraph on page xi from Totality and Infi nity by Emmanuel Levinas (1991)
is reprinted with the kind permission of Springer Science+Business Media.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to quote the lyrics on pages 239 and 240:
Written by John Lennon © Lenono Music. Used by permission.
First published in Great Britain by Viking Books.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in
writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under
terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning
reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department,
Oxford University Press, at the address above.
You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Schama, Simon, author.
Title: The face of Britain : A history of the nation through its portraits / Simon Schama.
Description: New York : Oxford University Press, 2016. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifi ers: LCCN 2016005776 | ISBN 978–0–19–062187–2
Subjects: LCSH: Portraits, British. | Great Britain—Biography—Portraits.
Classifi cation: LCC N7598 .S33 2016 | DDC 704.9/420941—dc23 LC record
available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016005776
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America
For Jan Dalley
in love and friendship

Contents
Pre- Face
xv
part I
The Face of Power
1. The Face of Britain 1
2. Saviours 22
3. Reins of Power 43
4. Bigwigs 68
5. Attack Portraiture 83
6. Family Album 100
7. Absent One Cigar 113
part II
The Face of Love
1. Shadow Love 123
2. Kenelm and Venetia 126
3. George and Maria, Richard and Maria,
Tom and Maria 152
4. Molly and the Captain 193
5. Alice in the After- time 205
6. Capturing Janey 216
vii
Contents
7. Francis and George 228
8. Julia 236
part III
The Face of Fame
1. Trouble 245
2. Dragon’s Breath 248
3. The First National Portrait Gallery 265
4. The Star 274
5. Lookers 296
6. Halls of Heroes 320
7. Farewell to the Famous 332
part IV
The Face in the Mirror
1. . . . but on Reflection 339
2. This is Me 345
3. The History Painter 357
4. ‘To Self. An Unfinished Sketch’ 1731 367
5. Living Anciently at Twenty 379
6. The Bodies of Women 397
7. Modelling Flesh 431
viii
Contents
part V
Faces of the People
1. Black, White and Colour 441
2. Variety 465
3. Cutting Edge 483
4. Chummies 491
5. The Faceless of Britain 524
About Face
539
List of Illustrations 547
Select Bibliography 562
Acknowledgements 581
Index 585
ix