(Frederick) Louis MacNeice
- Artist: Sir William Menzies Coldstream
- Date: 1937
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 26 in. x 19 5/8 in. (660 mm x 500 mm) overall
- Portrays: (Frederick) Louis MacNeice
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
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About this artwork
In this oil on canvas portrait, Sir William Menzies Coldstream captures (Frederick) Louis MacNeice in profile. The sitter’s face is rendered with careful light and shadow, showing a calm gaze that suggests the poet’s contemplative nature. The background is simple and unadorned, letting the subject stand out.
Coldstream worked in 1937, and this work sits in his portrait series. The canvas measures roughly 26 by 19½ inches, giving the figure an intimate scale suitable for a gallery wall. MacNeice, born in 1907 and passing in 1963, was a noted poet whose likeness appears in several portraits.
This piece is part of a long‑term loan to the National Portrait Gallery, thanks to a gift from John‑Christopher Spender. The painting highlights Coldstream’s skill at capturing subtle expression in portraiture.
See it in person
(Frederick) Louis MacNeice 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.
