Florence Boot
- Artist: Noel Denholm Davis
- Date: 1917
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 47 1/4 in. x 39 3/4 in. (1200 mm x 1010 mm) overall frame size
- Portrays: Florence Boot
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
In this portrait, Noel Denholm Davis captures Florence Boot at the height of her career. The oil on canvas, painted in 1917, measures just under five feet across. You’ll notice her relaxed pose and the subtle light that falls across her face. She wears a simple yet elegant dress, hinting at early twentieth‑century taste, while a chair sits behind her, suggesting her role as an executive. The sitter was born in 1863; after working in her father’s bookshop she joined Boots, bringing perfumes and cosmetics to the chemists’ lineup and designing the flagship store on Pelham Street in Nottingham. She also founded the Boots Athletic Club and opened the Boots Book‑Lovers' Library in 1898. The painting is part of a long‑term loan from Walgreens Boots Alliance.
See it in person
Florence Boot 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.
