Portraiture and the Human Figure

The human figure has been a subject for artists since the earliest cave paintings. This new display, drawn from Sheffield’s collections, explores artists’ enduring fascination with depicting people.

The human figure has been a subject for artists since the earliest cave paintings. This new display, drawn from Sheffield’s collections, explores artists’ enduring fascination with depicting people.

Portraits are complex. They have power and go far beyond a record of someone’s physical appearance – they offer insights into a sitter’s identity and status, as well as revealing the power dynamic between sitter and artist. They can flatter their subject, be grounded in the reality of the lives of the people they show, or be reminders of our own mortality.

The display brings together over 80 paintings, photographs and works on paper to explore the breadth of portraiture and images of the figure. See work by David A Bailey, Cecil Beaton, Pierre Bonnard, Vanley Burke, Edna Clarke Hall, Prunella Clough, David Hockney, Barbara Hepworth, Lesley Sanderson, Nahem Shoa and more.

Also on display is Clothed Akin, a new work by Francisca Onumah commissioned for the city's collection thanks to support from the Contemporary Art Society's Griffin Award.