Margaret Thatcher left out of National Gallery mural to great British women

Britain’s first woman prime minister is not among the 133 figures depicted
NPG 7145. Work in Progress (2021-2) by Jann Haworth and Liberty Blake. Acrylic on paper collaged on panels
Jann Haworth and Liberty Blake / National Portrait Gallery
Ethan Croft10 March 2023

As part of its relaunch this year, the National Portrait Gallery has attempted to redress its gender imbalance by commissioning a seven-panel mural featuring 133 of the greatest women from British history. Unveiled yesterday, the mural features a range of famous figures including Maureen Colquhoun, the first openly lesbian MP, Diane Abbott, Britain’s first black female MP and suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst.

But one omission has raised eyebrows. Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first woman prime minister, is nowhere to be seen. Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns says the mural “fails to capture one of our nation’s most successful daughters,” adding “great British women come from every background, political party and corner of our country.”

A gallery spokesperson says a blank silhouette in the top-right of the seventh mural panel allows visitors to “add their own choices to the work.” The gallery notes that it already features portraits of Thatcher. However, a number of the 133 women featured also hang in the gallery already.

NPG 7145. Work in Progress (2021-2) by Jann Haworth and Liberty Blake. Acrylic on paper collaged on panels. Commissioned by Trustees with kind support from the CHANEL Culture Fund, 2021.
Jann Haworth and Liberty Blake / National Portrait Gallery

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