Ancestry and National Portrait Gallery team up for family portraits exhibition

A new display at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG), in partnership with family history organisation Ancestry, is the product of an open call to the public for family portraits and their accompanying meaningful backstories. The call received more than 2,200 submissions.

The display, titled the Nation’s Family Album, runs until 10 September in the gallery’s Spotlight Space.

NPG partnered with Ancestry in February 2022, their aim being to digitise more than 125,000 portraits from the gallery’s collection, which spans 500 years of history.

To put together the exhibition, a panel of four judges – Alison Smith, chief curator at the NPG; Simon Pearce, family history expert at Ancestry; Peter Braithwaite, baritone, broadcaster and founder of Rediscovering Black Portraiture; and the portrait photographer Millie Pilkington – analysed the images and their accompanying stories.

The four winning portraits, which are now on show at the NPG, were selected for encapsulating the key themes of strength, hope, resilience and togetherness. An additional 100 portraits, shortlisted as part of the selection process, are included digitally in this display.

These four images and the shortlisted 100 will be available to view in a permanent online collection on Ancestry later this year.  

The winning photos were submitted by Rotimi Odukoya, whose photo shows him, his wife and their young son and celebrates the strength of family through the pandemic with a story of having their first baby; a black and white family photo submitted by David Abbott of his ancestors in 1917, the men in military uniform between stints fighting in the first world war; Ian George McLean's photo of his mum Nola, who came to Britain in 1958 to become a nurse; and Stephen Illffe’s submission of two young brothers who had fled the Iraqi war, were living in barely-furnished accommodation in Derby and are pictured playing.

Simon Pearce, family history expert at Ancestry said: “Photographs are a valuable source for family history as they provide a snapshot into the everyday lives and events of our families and ancestors. When a caption or backstory accompanies a photo, it can be incredibly revealing and invaluable for future generations.

“This is why we are thrilled to have partnered with the National Portrait Gallery for this initiative. Viewing these images and understanding the unique stories behind them is a truly moving experience. The hope is that the display will be a catalyst for families to capture and store their dearest moments for the future.”