Edith Sitwell
- Artist: Maurice Lambert
- Date: 1985
- Medium: aluminium head
- Dimensions: 16 1/8 in. x 6 1/4 in. (410 mm x 160 mm) overall
- Portrays: Dame Edith Sitwell
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
In this aluminium head of Dame Edith Sitwell, created by sculptor Maurice Lambert in 1985 as a later cast of his original 1926‑27 work, you’ll notice the clean, linear lines that echo the Art Deco style popular in the 1920s. The surface is smooth and almost flat, showing how Lambert treated aluminium as a modern medium—an unusual choice for a portrait head at that time.
Lambert made this piece after his brother of Constant Lambert’s own work had caught his eye. He first exhibited it in a solo show at the Claridge Galleries in June 1927, and the original cast stayed with the Sitwell family before later casts were produced in 1984 and 1994.
Dame Edith was a leading modernist poet in London’s artistic circle. The portrait comes from a commission by her brother Osbert, who wanted to capture the sharp energy of her famous poem cycle *Façade*, which he had seen performed in 1923.
See it in person
Edith Sitwell 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.
