Irène Joliot-Curie
- Artist: Lotte Meitner-Graf
- Date: 1940
- Medium: gelatin silver print
- Dimensions: 11 5/8 in. x 9 5/8 in. (295 mm x 245 mm) overall
- Portrays: Irène Joliot-Curie
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the portrait of Irène Joliot‑Curie by Lotte Meitner‑Graf. A gelatin silver print from the late 1940s captures her face in a close‑up of head and shoulders. You can see her thoughtful gaze, the clean lines of her hair framing the upper left side, and a subtle shadow under her chin that adds depth. Meitner‑Graf, an Austrian emigré who produced twenty‑one portraits, used photographic techniques that give this image crisp detail and a gentle silver tonality.
Joliot‑Curie was a Nobel laureate in chemistry, director of Paris’s Radium Institute from 1946 until her death, and daughter‑in‑law to Marie Curie. In the photo she stands at the helm of radiochemistry, ready to share her pioneering work on artificial atoms and cancer treatments. The print sits in the National Portrait Gallery’s collection.
See it in person
Irène Joliot-Curie 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.
