Final Chance To See The Audrey Hepburn Exhibition

3rd January 2016

 

Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon is an exciting and rare opportunity to view photographic portraits of Hepburn by some of the 20th century’s most celebrated photographers.

Image credit: Audrey Hepburn photographed by Norman Parkinson for Glamour Magazine, 1955. © Norman Parkinson Ltd/Courtesy Norman Parkinson Archive. 

The exhibition opened at The Wilson, Gloucestershire’s premier museum and art gallery on 9 November 2015, straight from its sell-out run at the National Portrait Gallery in London. The Wilson, in Cheltenham, is currently the only other UK venue at which to see this exhibition, which is now running until 31 January 2016. 

Exploring Hepburn’s dazzling rise to fame through her work as a dancer, an actress, fashion icon and humanitarian, the exhibition shows images taken by photographers including Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton, Douglas Kirkland, Norman Parkinson and Angus McBean. A number of portraits on display are a selection of rarely seen photographs from the Hepburn family’s personal collection, and the exhibition includes one photograph by Antony Beauchamp for department store, Marshall & Snellgrove, which had never been seen before the exhibition opened at the National Portrait Gallery. 

Photographs in the exhibition reveal insights to Hepburn’s life in front of and away from the camera. Many were taken as exclusive behind-the-scenes photoshoots for magazines documenting her at work on film sets, are family photographs of Hepburn as she grew up, practised ballet and began her stage career, or are photographs following her important charitable work with Unicef.

The exhibition is a fascinating exploration of Hepburn’s transformation from dancer and chorus girl, to film star and fashion icon, to celebrated and respected humanitarian. The exhibition brings together a wonderful variety of portraits of Hepburn: some formal, some from before she was famous, and some taken on set from some of her best-loved films such as War and Peace (1955), Funny Face (1957) and How to Steal a Million (1966).

The exhibition has been co-curated by the National Portrait Gallery’s Terence Pepper, Senior Special Advisor on Photographs, and Helen Trompeteler, Associate Curator of Photographs. Both have previously curated a number of high profile exhibitions for the Gallery. Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon has been organised with support from the Audrey Hepburn Estate / Luca Dotti & Sean Hepburn Ferrer. The exhibition is supported at The Wilson by headline sponsors Kuoni, with additional support from Harrison Clark Rickerbys, Martin & Co and Hobbs. 

DETAILS

Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon is located in the second floor exhibition gallery of The Wilson until 31 January 2016. Entry will be £7 / £5 concession, free for children aged 16 and under. Tickets can be bought in person at The Wilson, over the phone on 01242 237 431 or at http://www.cheltenhammuseum.org.uk/. During the exhibition, The Wilson is open 9.30am – 5.15pm every day. Details of the events and activities programme are available at www.cheltenhammuseum.org.uk