Image: Bodelwyddan Castle Art Gallery, Bodelwyddan
The National Portrait Gallery in London says new portraits are going up in 'History Makers Now' on its ground floor, as it marks a busy July that also includes the opening of the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2026 and an evening conversation tied to 'Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait'. The gallery’s July newsletter says visitors can expect a rehang of the ground-floor display, with a teaser to follow on social media.
'History Makers Now' is presented as a changing display of contemporary portraiture, and the newsletter points to Room 33 as part of the current rotation. One featured work is a portrait of Phyllis Akua Opoku-Gyimah, known as Lady Phyll, by Jesse Navarre Vos. The gallery describes Lady Phyll as a London-born activist of Ghanaian heritage and notes her role as co-founder of UK Black Pride, an organisation for LGBTQ+ people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Middle Eastern and Latin American descent.
The latest portrait activity sits alongside the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2026, which the gallery says opened and will run until 7 October. The free-to-visit exhibition is presented as a showcase of contemporary portraiture, bringing together artists working in both classical and innovative modern techniques. The newsletter says the winners were announced last month, though no further details are given in the email.
Also continuing is 'Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait', which runs until 6 September. The gallery describes it as an exhibition of portraits tracing Monroe from Norma Jeane to Hollywood icon, with an emphasis on her agency in image-making and the way she made the camera “come to life.” The email says tickets are selling fast and promotes booking in advance.
The Monroe exhibition also anchors a talk taking place on 10 July from 19.00 to 20.00. Titled 'Griselda Pollock and Michael Arnold in conversation', the event is priced at £15 onsite or £10 online. Pollock, identified by the gallery as a professor, feminist and art historian, will speak with Michael Arnold, grandson of photographer Eve Arnold, about Arnold’s images of Monroe across her career.
The gallery’s July programme extends beyond the Monroe-related event. A separate ticketed session, 'Time for tea?', is scheduled for 23 July 2026 from 14:00 to 16:00, and offers a gallery tour led by Senior Storyteller Daniel Hausherr followed by cream tea in Larry’s. The newsletter also promotes Club NPG, a scheme for visitors aged 16 to 25 that offers £5 exhibition tickets and access to exclusive content and experiences.
The newsletter is sent to subscribers of the National Portrait Gallery London, with the gallery listing its address at St Martin’s Place, WC2H 0HE. Among the works pictured in the email are portraits by a range of artists and photographers, including the Lady Phyll image by Jesse Navarre Vos and a Marilyn Monroe photograph by Eve Arnold, underscoring the gallery’s focus this month on portraiture, celebrity image-making and contemporary representation.
