Eamon De Valera
- Artist: Howard Coster
- Date: 1939
- Medium: bromide print
- Dimensions: 11 7/8in. x 9 1/2in. (300 mm x 230 mm)
- Portrays: Eamon De Valera
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is a portrait of Éamonn De Valera, captured in profile by photographer Howard Coster in 1939. The image appears in black‑and‑white with crisp detail; you can see his spectacles resting on the bridge of his nose and his hair neatly cut. Coster used a bromide print, a technique that emphasizes subtle tonal gradations, giving the face a soft, almost photographic quality.
The print measures about 11 7⁄8 inches by 9 1/2 inches, so it’s small enough to read close details but large enough for the overall expression. Coster was known for his portrait work; he produced over nine‑hundred portraits and appeared in a handful of his own photographs.
De Valera himself served as Irish Prime Minister before becoming President; this is one of sixteen portraits that document his public life. The print now sits in the National Portrait Gallery’s Photographs Collection, a testament to early twentieth‑century portraiture techniques.
See it in person
Eamon De Valera 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.
