A host of wonderful women who made their mark on British history will adorn the walls of the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in June when the London institution reopens after a three-year refurbishment. Trailblazers such as the late fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and Diane Abbott, Britain’s first black MP, are among the 130 women featured in Work in progress, a large mural by Jann Haworth and Liberty Blake. The group portrait is reminiscent of the cover of The Beatles’s sergeant. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which Haworth co-created in 1967 with Peter Blake. But there were grumblings about the striking new vista. THE evening standard The newspaper reported that Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns is unhappy that Margaret Thatcher, the UK’s first female Prime Minister, has been omitted. “Great British women come from all walks of life, political parties and corners of our country,” says Jenkyns. The NPG says a blank silhouette in the seventh wall panel allows visitors “to add their own choices to the work”. So while the performers might not be ready to shoot, Iron Lady fans can just imagine Maggie there.
