The First Actresses, National Portrait Gallery, until 8 January. 2 for 1 ticket offer

Frances Abington as Miss Prue in Love for Love by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1771 (detail) © Yale Center for British Art. Paul Mellon Collection
10 April 2012

THIS PROMOTION HAS NOW CLOSED

Featuring show-stopping works by the leading artists of the period including Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough and William Hogarth, the First Actresses presents a spectacle of femininity, fashion and theatricality in seventeenth and eighteenth-century London.

Taking centre stage are the intriguing and notorious female performers of the period whose lives outside the theatres of Covent Garden and Drury Lane ranged from royal mistresses to successful writers and businesswomen. The exhibition reveals the many ways in which these early celebrities used portraiture to enhance their reputations, deflect scandal and create their professional identities.

TO BOOK 2 FOR 1 TICKETS:
Simply print out this page and present it at the Gallery Information Desk, before 9 January 2012.

Terms & Conditions
One redemption per visitor. Not in conjunction with any other discount or offer. Offer valid until 8 January 2012. Valid during normal Gallery opening hours - daily 10.00 - 18.00, Thursday & Friday until 21.00. Subject to availability. Promoter: National Portrait Gallery.

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