100 Photographs

The National Portrait Gallery is home to more than a quarter of a million photographs that provide a fascinating commentary on British history and culture and on the development of photographic practice from its beginnings in the 1840s to the present day. With an introduction by the Gallery’s Head of Photographs, this book reveals the stories and techniques behind some of the most popular images in the Gallery’s Collection.

100 Photographs presents a selection of images of significant individuals who have shaped the last 180 years of British life, from Charles Darwin to David Attenborough, from Virginia Woolf to Kate Moss, captured by photographers as diverse as Oscar Rejlander, Julia Margaret Cameron and Mario Testino. Each image is accompanied by an extended caption with key information on the sitter and the artist.