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Charles Dickens Portrait Exhibition

When
25 October 2011 -
22 April 2012

10am - 6pm

Where
National Portrait Gallery, The

Cost
Free

Age Restrictions
n/a

Celebrating the bicentenary of the famous Victorian author, a Charles Dickens portrait exhibition takes place at the National Portrait Gallery, showcasing photos and paintings throughout his life. On display alongside pictures of his friends and family, plus drawings of his literary characters, the exhibition gives an insight into his life, work and passion for writing.

Charles Dickens portrait exhibition
Entitled Charles Dickens: Life and Legacy, the National Portrait Gallery exhibition charts his life from his birth in 1812 to his sudden death at the age of 58 in 1870. Having penned numerous pieces of work, including novels, magazines, journalistic publications and speeches, Dickens' life and literary works have become synonymous with many with the Victorian period.

Literary characters
With 34 years of writing under his belt, Dickens created a host of memorable characters in his work, many of which still resonate with readers today and inspire TV and film actors to reinterpret them in new and different ways. Pictures of Martita Hunt as Miss Faversham and John Lawrence Toole as Serjeant Buzfuz are included in the Charles Dickens portrait exhibition, alongside a cartoon of the author himself, drawn by Henry Furniss, a caricaturist from Punch.

Life and work
Although the majority of pictures included in the exhibition are of Dickens himself, a large selection relate to his friends and family. The earlist work on show in the Charles Dickens portrait exhibition is an oil painting of the author showing him as a 26 year old, celebrating his first taste of fame. An engraving of his wife Catherine as a young woman also appears, alongside a photo of her in later years. Friends such as artist Clarkson Standfield, the novelist Wilkie Collins and the first editor of Punch, Mark Lemon, are represented in photos, as are portraits of the poets Edgar Allan Poe and Henry Longfellow.

The Charles Dickens portrait exhibition, Charles Dickens: Life and Legacy takes place from Wednesday 25th October 2011 - Sunday 22nd April 2012. Admission is free.

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Other Events at National Portrait Gallery, The

From Jul 19, Mon-Wed, Sat & Sun 10am-6pm, Thu & Fri 10am-9pm, ends Sep 23
18 October 2012 - 13 January 2013
From Jun 21, Mon-Wed, Sat & Sun 10am-6pm, Thu & Fri 10am-10pm, ends Sep 23
17 May 2012 - 21 October 2012
Mon-Wed, Sat & Sun 10am-6pm, Thu & Fri 10am-9pm, ends Sep 16
Mon-Wed, Sat & Sun 10am-6pm, Thu & Fri 10am-9pm, ends Aug 12
Mon-Wed, Sat & Sun 10am-6pm, Thu & Sat 10am-9pm, closed Dec 24-26, ends Jan 6
01 October 2010 - 05 October 2012
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