Harold Wilson
- Artist: Ruskin Spear
- Date: 1974
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 20 1/8 in. x 15 in. (511 mm x 381 mm)
- Portrays: (James) Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is a portrait of Harold Wilson by Ruskin Spear, shown at the Royal Academy summer show in 1974. The canvas measures just over 20 inches tall and shows the former prime minister sitting straight with his trademark pipe resting on the table. You can see wisps of tobacco smoke curling upward, suggesting his habit. Spear painted this from sittings at Downing Street, capturing a casual, actor‑like pose that he described as “using his pipe as an extension of himself”. The artist, born in 1911, worked mainly in oil on canvas and produced a dozen such portraits. Wilson had returned to office that year after the October election, and the painting was titled simply “Man with a Pipe.”
See it in person
Harold Wilson 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.
