Constant Lambert
- Artist: Christopher Wood
- Date: 1926
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 36 in. x 22 in. (914 mm x 559 mm)
- Portrays: Constant Lambert
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is “Constant Lambert” – a 1926 oil on canvas by Christopher Wood, measuring about 36 by 22 inches. You see the composer seated in a relaxed pose, his face calm and thoughtful. Notice how Wood layers the paint: subtle brushwork gives depth to Lambert’s attire, while soft light falls across his hands. The background is plain, keeping all attention on the sitter.
Lambert was in Paris at that time, working on the music for the ballet *Romeo and Juliet*. The portrait was commissioned by Serge Diaghilev, founder of Ballets Russes, and reflects Lambert’s modernist leanings. He later blended jazz elements into his best‑known composition “The Rio Grande,” completed in 1927.
Wood himself drew inspiration from contemporary painters like Picasso and Cézanne, a fact you can feel in the simplified forms and bold colors. This work sits within the National Portrait Gallery in London, a place that showcases portraits of notable figures such as Lambert’s contemporaries Osbert and Edith Sitwell and composer William Walton.
See it in person
Constant Lambert 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.
