Dame Judi and Amy to star in portrait show

Judi Dench, Darcey Bussell, Amy Winehouse and J.K. Rowling are just some of those featured in a new exhibition of portraits from the National Portrait Gallery as part of the ‘Making her mark – celebrating creative women’ display.

The exhibition, at Beningbrough Hall, near York, will showcase a series of diverse portraits recognising some key British women who have made a difference in the creative worlds of writing, art, music, performance and dance.

Jane Whitehead, visitor operations manager at Beningbrough Hall, Gallery and Gardens, said: “This new exhibition is an exciting and bold step for Beningbrough with portraits themed through several rooms.

“It will showcase some of our most influential female creators in the arts such as Barbara Hepworth and Darcey Bussell.”

This year marks the 100th anniversary of women gaining the partial right to vote and the National Trust has chosen to recognise British women who have influenced society with exhibitions and events throughout the country celebrating ‘Women and Power’.

The new exhibition is in partnership with the National Portrait Gallery and celebrates women who have made a significant contribution to our cultural landscape.

Displays of portraits in three of the principal rooms on the first floor of Beningbrough will make it the hall’s largest temporary display since opening in partnership with the National Portrait Gallery in 1979.

Alison Smith, Chief Curator at the National Portrait Gallery, said: “We are delighted to be sharing portraits of some of the most exciting and influential creative women of the last 100 years.

“These include significant Gallery commissions of Dame Judi Dench, Dame Janet Baker, Dame Helen Mirren, Dame Iris Murdoch and Darcey Bussell. These remarkable women are an inspiration to future generations.”

Making her mark – celebrating creative women will run from Saturday, March 3 to Sunday, November 3, 2018. at Beningbrough Hall, Gallery and Gardens, YO30 1DD.