July 2014 | Nate Pedersen

Lord Snowdon Donates 130 Portraits to the National Portrait Gallery

Lord Snowdon, one of Britain's most celebrated photographers, donated 130 portraits of writers, artists, musicians, and celebrities to the National Portrait Gallery in London.  The portraits include iconic images of Agatha Christie, Vita Sackville-West, Kingsley Amis, Graham Greene, and Nell Dunn amongst many others.

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(Nell Dunn (L) and Vita Sackville-West (R))

The director of the National Portrait Gallery, Sandy Nairne, said "These are wonderful portrait images of some most creative and engaging contributors to Britain in the second half of the 20th century."

Lord Snowdon's gift is one the largest ever received by the institution. Some of the portraits will be included in the exhibition Snowdon: A Life in View opening in September. The exhibition was already being planned for this fall to showcase portraits donated last year by Snowdon.

Lord Snowdon is equally as well-known in Britain for his eighteen year marriage to Princess Margaret, younger sister to Queen Elizabeth, between 1960 and 1978. He also photographed for Vogue magazine for six decades.