During her lifetime, the Belgian-born British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-93)—star of such films as Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Funny Face, Breakfast of Tiffany's, My Fair Lady, and many more—was recognised around the world. Posthumously, her popularity has endured and her image continues to be reproduced in a variety of international cultural contexts.
Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon calls attention to the circumstances in which pictures of Hepburn have been published and consumed, thereby illuminating our—the public's— relationship with the images over the course of the twentieth century. The book accompanies a major exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, London (2 July–18 October 2015), organised with support from the Audrey Hepburn Estate/Luca Dotti & Sean Hepburn Ferrer.
Alongside iconic portraits, Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon presents film stills and family photographs of Hepburn. Charted through over 145 portraits and supporting imges, Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon traverses Heburn's early early years in London as a student of ballet and a performer on the West End stage, her Hollywood heyday, and her final years as a special ambassador for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
