Carl Ronald Giles; Sylvia ('Joan') Clarke and musicians, including Butch Shepherd
- Artist: Lee Miller
- Date: 1944
- Medium: modern archival-toned gelatin silver print from original negative
- Dimensions: 10 in. x 10 in. (254 mm x 254 mm)
- Portrays: Sylvia ('Joan') Clarke, Carl Ronald Giles, Butch Shepherd
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is the portrait titled “Carl Ronald Giles; Sylvia (‘Joan’) Clarke and musicians, including Butch Shepherd” by Lee Miller. In the frame you see Carl Ronald Giles, his wife Sylvia—called Joan in her own letters—and a small group of musicians. The drummer Butch Shepherd is front and center, hands poised on his kit. Each figure looks relaxed; Miller captures their easy poses against a muted background.
The image comes from a 1944 negative printed in 2004 as a gelatin‑silver print. It was shot for Vogue’s “Jam session at the local” spread, celebrating a wartime gathering near Suffolk where U.S. soldiers were stationed.
Giles had just become the Express’ official war cartoonist that year, a role that inspired his later trips to the front and his anti‑war stance.
See it in person
Carl Ronald Giles; Sylvia ('Joan') Clarke and musicians, including Butch Shepherd is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
