Alan Rawsthorne
- Artist: Isabel Rawsthorne (née Nicholas)
- Date: 1966
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 26 in. x 32 in. (658 mm x 813 mm)
- Portrays: Alan Rawsthorne
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is “Alan Rawsthorne”, a portrait by his wife, Isabel Rawsthorne (née Nicholas). The canvas measures 26 × 32 in., and the oil paint has been laid in subtle layers that give the sitter’s face a soft glow.
You’ll notice Alan sitting upright with a calm, thoughtful expression. His eyes look directly at us, slightly set beneath a neatly trimmed moustache. The background is plain, letting his profile—his forehead, nose, mouth—stand out. Isabel’s brushwork is fine and controlled; she has captured the light catching on the hat and the subtle shadow of his jaw.
Alan was born in 1905 in Lancashire and became a noted composer. His early works like “Theme and Variations for Two Violins” (1938) and “Symphonic Studies” (1939) helped define British music between wars. He also wrote scores for films such as *The Cruel Sea* and *West of Zanzibar*.
Isabel, born in 1912, was an accomplished painter and model who moved through the bohemian circles of Paris and Soho. She painted several portraits of her own circle—including a few by Francis Bacon—which will be shown next year in the Gallery’s “Francis Bacon: Human Presence” exhibition.
See it in person
Alan Rawsthorne is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
