A vibrant portrait of the LGBTQ+ and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has been hung in the National Portrait Gallery’s History Makers gallery as part of a drive to better reflect the diversity of the UK.
The painting by Sarah Jane Moon shows Tatchell in a casual pose, seated with his hands clasping his left calf. The 72-year-old activist is sporting a rainbow tie to celebrate almost six decades of fighting for LGBTQ+ rights.
Tatchell, who has experienced more than 300 violent assaults and has been arrested or detained by police more than 100 times, said he was “delighted and honoured” to have his portrait in the gallery “alongside so many esteemed public figures”.
“I love the bold, expressive, joyful style [of the painting], which reflects the spirit of my campaigns,” he added. He consciously chose brightly coloured clothes for sittings in order to avoid “the sombre, dark tones” of many portraits.
Although few men routinely wear ties these days, it is not unusual for Tatchell. He realised many years ago that people had “preconceptions about campaigners in T-shirts. I put on a tie and people started treating me much more seriously, so I’ve stuck with ties ever since.”
Moon said she liked her subjects to “wear what they feel comfortable in”. She hoped the end result reflected Tatchell’s “energy and enthusiasm” and “warmth and generosity”.
The portrait is the first by Moon to be acquired by the NPG for its permanent collection. “Portraiture is a genre that has often upheld the status quo and perpetuated certain class structures, particularly in this country. There’s still a lot of commissioned portraiture that falls into the realm of society portraiture, that’s quite conservative. But I think it is changing,” she said.
The artist, who is also gay, was delighted when Tatchell agreed to sit for her. “He has such a strong moral compass,” she said. His activism over so many years was “an inspiration”.
Tatchell moved from Melbourne to London in 1971 and became a leading member of the Gay Liberation Front. He has espoused many human rights and social justice issues, including apartheid, racial justice, electoral reform and the climate crisis.
“There has been hugely positive progress in my lifetime. When I was a teenager in the 1960s, homosexuality was still punishable up to life imprisonment. But one of the big failures is that we haven’t fundamentally changed class and wealth inequality in the UK,” he said.
“I’m still going strong, and I hope to go on for another 20 years. There are so many injustices to fight and overturn.”
Sarah Howgate, the NPG’s senior curator of contemporary collections, said: “Since reopening last year, the gallery has worked hard to ensure that our new displays better reflect the diversity of the UK.
“Continuing this important emphasis, I’m delighted that this portrait of Peter Tatchell, one of the most influential campaigners living today, by Sarah Jane Moon is going on display – alongside many more of the UK’s important ‘history makers’.”
