A Brontë Treasury

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY’S ICONIC PAINTING OF THE BRONTËS TO BE DISPLAYED WITH TREASURES FROM FAMILY HOME FOR FIRST TIME 

In partnership with the Brontë Parsonage, Haworth to mark the bicentenary of Charlotte Brontë’s birth.

A major display of personal items, original manuscripts and works of art to mark the 200^thanniversary of the birth of Charlotte Brontë, author of Jane Eyre, will open at the National Portrait Gallery early this year. 

Celebrating Charlotte Brontë 1816-1855, (22 February - 14 August 2016) explores the author’s life, creative development and professional success. It will include portraits from the Gallery’s Collection and 26 items from the Brontë Parsonage Museum, birthplace and home of Charlotte and her family. It will also be one of the museum’s largest ever loans, some of which have never previously been seen. 

Among the treasures are paintings and drawings by Charlotte, letters and journals, the famous ‘little books’ created by the Brontë sisters as children including the first book Charlotte ever made, a pair of cloth ankle boots worn by Charlotte and first editions of Jane Eyre, her first published novel, which enjoyed immediate and enduring popularity as well as Elizabeth Gaskell’s biography, Life of Charlotte Brontë. 

Central to the display will be the presentation of new research into the only surviving painted portraits of Charlotte with her two sisters, Emily and Anne, by their brother Branwell, in the Gallery’s Collection. This will explore the intriguing story of its discovery folded on top of a wardrobe, subsequent acquisition by the Gallery and its restoration. 

The display will also include works from the Gallery’s Collection including the chalk drawings of Charlotte and her friend and first biographer Elizabeth Gaskell by George Richmond, alongside portraits of Charlotte Brontë’s heroes and associates such as the Duke of Wellington, poet Lord Byron and novelist William Thackeray.

Celebrating Charlotte Brontë 1816-1855 is curated by the National Portrait Gallery’s Associate Curator Rosie Broadley, assisted by Lucy Wood, Assistant Curator. 

Lucy Wood, Assistant Curator, says: ‘This rare chance to see the only painted portrait of Charlotte Brontë alongside illuminating personal treasures from the Brontë Parsonage Museum provides a fascinating opportunity to celebrate her life and remarkable achievements as one of the most celebrated authors of the 19th century’.

Many of the loans from the Parsonage Museum as well as works from the National Portrait Gallery Collection will be exhibited in the United States for the first time at the Morgan Library in New York in autumn 2016.

DISPLAY Celebrating Charlotte Brontë 1816-1855 (22 February - 14 August 2016) Room 24, Admission free

EVENTS:

Thursday 21 April, 19.00 

Celebrating Charlotte Brontë £7/£5

On the bicentenary of Charlotte’s birth, Claire Harman, author of Charlotte Brontë: A Life, playwright Moira Buffini and novelist Rachel Joyce ask who was the real Charlotte Brontë?  In partnership with the Royal Society of Literature.

Saturday 14 – Sunday 15 May, 11.00 – 17.00

Weekend Workshop: Notes on Charlotte £150/£125

This two day craft workshop led by artist Grace Adam gives you the opportunity to respond to the themes and characters in Charlotte Brontë’s novels. Using portraits, family letters and objects from Haworth on display, produce artists’ books based on your own areas of interest. Techniques employed will include lino cutting, block printing, collage, drawing and photography. Suitable for all abilities.

Website/Tickets: npg.org.uk