21/12/2025
Join author Sharon Wright as we celebrate International Women’s Day and explore the story of the iconic and much-loved Brontë portrait in the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection.
Sharon explores this famous portrait’s journey from the Brontë Parsonage in Haworth, where Patrick Branwell Brontë painted his sisters Anne, Emily and Charlotte in 1834, to its discovery, folded and forgotten atop a wardrobe after many years. The painting caused a sensation when it was rediscovered and acquired by the National Portrait Gallery, attracting large crowds when it went on display in 1914. Even today this fascinating portrait is among the most popular in the Collection.
Sharon will also explore the most pressing questions around the portrait. Why does this painting of the sisters, who wrote masterpieces including Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, continue to hold every new generation in thrall? Why did their brother paint a pillar over himself? And why was the damage to the portrait preserved? Join Sharon to learn of the long road that wound from West Yorkshire to London via Ireland and the portrait’s rightful place in our national heritage – against all the odds.
Please note, there will be a book signing with Sharon Wright immediately after the talk in the Main Gallery shop (14.00-14.30).
