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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle

Gay Icons at the National Portrait Gallery

NPG Gay Icons exhibit: National Portrait Gallery Gay Icons Virginia Woolf
The author Virginia Woolf, who many scholars believe was bisexual, 1939. Chosen by Chris Smith Photograph: Gisèle Freund /National Portrait Gallery
NPG Martina: Martina Navratilova National Portrait Gallery Gay Icons exhibition
Tennis star and nine-time Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova, 1978. Chosen by Ben Summerskill Photograph: Central Press/Getty Images
NPG Gay Icons exhibit: National Portrait Gallery Gay Icons k.d.lang
The singer K D Lang, 1992. Chosen by Sandi Toksvig Photograph: Jill Furmanovsky/National Portrait Gallery
NPG Gay Icons exhibit: Alan Turing National Portrait Gallery Gay Icons
The mathematican and code-breaker Alan Turing, 1951, who killed himself after struggling with his homosexuality. Chosen by Chris Smith Photograph: Elliott and Fry /National Portrait Gallery
NPG Gay Icons exhibit: National Portrait Gallery Gay Icons Harvey Milk
The first openly gay man elected to public office, the US politician Harvey Milk, 1978. Chosen by Sir Ian McKellen Photograph: Efren Ramirez/National Portrait Gallery
NPG Gay Icons exhibit: National Portrait Gallery Gay Icons Peter Tatchall
Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, 1999. Chosen by Sandi Toksvig Photograph: Polly Borland/National Portrait Gallery
NPG Gay Icons exhibit: National Portrait Gallery Gay Icons Gerard Manley Hopkins
The poet and Jesuit priest Gerard Manley Hopkins, 1863. Chosen by Chris Smith Photograph: Hills & Saunders/George Giberne/National Portrait Gallery
NPG Gay Icons exhibit: National Portrait Gallery Gay Icons Graham Taylor
Former Watford and England manager Graham Taylor, 1992. Chosen by Elton John, as he "truly made whatever dreams I had for my team come true" Photograph: Mark Lawrence/Rex Features
NPG Gay Icons exhibit: National Portrait Gallery Gay Icons Bernie Taupin
Elton John's songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, 1975. Chosen by Elton John Photograph: Terry O'Neill /National Portrait Gallery
NPG Gay Icons exhibit: National Portrait Gallery Gay Icons Joe Dallessandro
One of Andy Warhol's muses, the actor Joe Dallessandro, 1968. Chosen by Alan Hollinghurst Photograph: Paul Morrissey/National Portrait Gallery
NPG Gay Icons exhibit: National Portrait Gallery Gay Icons Joe Orton
The gay playwright Joe Orton, 1965. Chosen by Ben Summerskill Photograph: Lewis Morley/National Portrait Gallery
NPG Gay Icons exhibit: National Portrait Gallery Gay Icons Quentin Crisp
Quentin Crisp, 1989. Best known as the author of The Naked Civil Servant, Crisp was queenly long before ‘queens’ came in, and gay before the gay days. Chosen by Jackie Kay Photograph: Fergus Greer/National Portrait Gallery
NPG Gay Icons exhibit: National Portrait Gallery Gay Icons Sylvia Townsend Warner
Sylvia Townsend Warner, 1934, a 21st-century British writer whose works were highly regarded and have a clear homoerotic subtext. Chosen by Sarah Waters Photograph: Howard Coster/National Portrait Gallery
NPG Gay Icons exhibit: National Portrait Gallery Gay Icons Rosa Bonheur
Rosa Bonheur, c1858, one of the most famous woman painters of the 19th century, and much admired by Queen Victoria. Chosen by Sandi Toksvig Photograph: Disdéri/National Portrait Gallery
NPG Gay Icons exhibit: Margarethe Cammermeyer National Portrait Gallery Gay Icons
Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer, who took the National Guard to task over its ban on gays and lesbians serving in the military. Chosen by Ian McKellen Photograph: Andreea Dragomir/National Portrait Gallery
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