The Nation’s Family Album, an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, aims to “celebrate the richness and diversity of family stories across Britain through the years”. This one is a typical seaside scene from the 1920s of children riding donkeys, with the animals’ names displayed on their harnesses.
This image is of a Temitayo and Rotimi Odukoya, who had a baby boy during the pandemic. They said working from home afterwards meant they could spend much more time together. Ife Ayelabola’s photograph is one of four selected by the judges’ panel, to be displayed at the gallery with its backstory. A further 100 are being exhibited digitally.
Image source, National Portrait Gallery/Ancestry
This image shows a British family ripped apart by World War One, pictured the last time they were all together. It was also selected for display by the judges’ panel for the exhibition, which is jointly unveiled with history website Ancestry.
Image source, National Portrait Gallery/Ancestry
This family portrait attempts to recreate Da Vinci’s Last Supper during a wine-fuelled Christmas Eve dinner in 2017.
Image source, National Gallery/Ancestry
Windrush immigrant Nola Mclean came to Britain in 1958 aged 19 to train as a nurse. Later in life she worked at a refuge for abused young women. This image by Ian George McLean was selected for display by the judges’ panel.
Image source, National Portrait Gallery/Ancestry
A mixed-race family celebrate the Eid Muslim celebration in Buckinghamshire, with everyone wearing something new which they selected to reflect their personalities. The image was taken by Peter Sanders.
Image source, National Gallery/Ancestry
Two young brothers are pictured in a bedroom in Derby, where they were temporarily housed as asylum seekers. Lawand, who is deaf, (L) and his brother Rawa (R) fled the Iraqi war with nothing but the clothes on their backs. This image, submitted by deaf photographer Stephen Iliffe, was selected for display by the judges.
Image source, National Portrait Gallery/Ancestry
Proud Welshman Ronald lived with mild dementia and passed away two weeks after sitting for award-winning photographer Andrew Tift.
Image source, National Portrait Gallery/Ancestry
These children lost their grandmother, and their grandfather lost his wife of of 52 years, in December 2021. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the children had sadly not seen their grandmother in more than two years. When they were finally able to see their grandad it was marked with a photograph, taken by Kayleigh Tricker.
Image source, National Portrait Gallery/Ancestry
“Family is the most precious thing you can possess, it doesn’t have to be blood-related. Here are some of the people who create what we see as family,” says the submission for this image. It is of the unnamed photographer’s late partner Leon, who died of bowel cancer in 2017, with their daughter Maiya.
