Simon Weston Portrait Unveiled At National Portrait Gallery

Simon Weston past times Nicky Philipps was unveiled inward the Balcony Gallery at the National Portrait Gallery this morning. It's the get-go articulation committee past times the BBC as well as the National Portrait Gallery . It also represents a major pace frontward inward price of the representation of people who get got experienced facial disfigurement inward the permanent collection of the Gallery.

The portrait is the effect of a poll to uncovering the private who should live honoured with the "People's Portrait". 12 candidates were identified ( encounter halt )and as well as thus the nifty British populace - or at to the lowest degree those watching the One Show on BBC1 - got to vote for the someone they idea should live honoured with a portrait. 

The winner was Simon Weston, the Falklands veteran who suffered 46% burns to his torso when the Sir Galahad when it was destroyed at Bluff Cove inward the Falklands Islands inward 1982.

Simon Weston was born inward Caerphilly as well as joined the Welsh Guards inward 1978, aged sixteen. In 1982 he was aboard RFA (Royal Fleet Auxiliary) Sir Galahad inward Port Pleasant inward the Falkland Islands when it came nether mail away during the Bluff Cove air attacks. Of his platoon, 22 members lost their lives, as well as Weston suffered 46% burns to his torso as well as face. He underwent to a greater extent than than lxx operations to reconstruct his face, as well as credits his identify unit of measurement as well as quondam regiment with helping him overcome extreme psychological trauma. He became a pop media personality, as well as is a author as well as patron of a set out of charities supporting people living with disfigurements, including the Healing Foundation.

The framer, the sitter (Simon Weston), the portrait painter (Nicky Phillips)
and the BBC reporter/presenter (Fiona Bruce)

The procedure of ikon the portrait - from committee to unveiling - is also the dependent area of a BBC behind-the-scenes documentary presented past times Fiona Bruce. This hr long programme volition live broadcast on sun 13th April. As the creative someone told me this morning, she wasn't allowed to deport on the sail unless the cameras were rolling!  she also commented that ikon to a BBC deadline was a new experience.

The portrait was completed inward eight x 2 hr sittings betwixt Oct as well as Dec 2013 inward Nicky Philipp's London studio. She painted it alla prima, equally is her custom, with no preliminary drawings. 

Simon commented to me that she seemed to live wearing out her shoe leather piece painting. He noted that she would brand 2 or 3 marks as well as and thus dorsum upwardly to get got a expect - as well as and thus brand 2 or 3 to a greater extent than marks - as well as thus it would continue.

He's previously had his portrait painted equally business office of the Sky Arts programme virtually ikon portraits. He commented that with these programmes, the painter who painted fastest was ever at a nifty payoff as well as he didn't mean value the procedure was fair to all the painters. However he felt the BBC's approach to filming the procedure of portrait ikon was much amend as well as much fairer to the artist.  

The get-go fourth dimension Simon Weston saw the ikon was inward the gallery this morning.  The identify unit of measurement all wanted to know what his woman parent idea of it - as well as his woman parent told me "It's him to a t!"

In the portrait he's belongings his medals inward his hands which were really badly damaged inward the explosion. They had plainly lived inward his mother's line of piece of work solid for many years inward a Black Magic box.  Those medals immediately include the OBE which he was awarded for all the coin he has raised for charity.

‘I felt it was of import to exhibit Simon’s hands. They were badly burned but he however has the move of them, as well as I wanted to exhibit him belongings his medals. The brilliant pinkish-red of the OBE inward Simon’s hands, draped over the chair, brings a flash of color to the lower one-half of the ikon which I experience is aesthetically satisfying’
Nicky Phillips

On the spot of the chair is the cap of a Welsh Guard. This is symbolic of all those other soldiers who were lost when the Sir Galahad was attacked - simply equally Simon's ain cap was lost at the time.

Simon Weston as well as his family

Currently the National Portrait Gallery is also hosting an exhibition of portraits associated with the First World War (see MAKING Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 MARK: "The Great War inward Portraits" - a review 26 February 2014). These include the pastel drawings of soldiers with trauamatic battle harm to their faces made by Henry Tonks - the Professor of Drawing at the Slade School of Art. He assisted Harold Gillies at the Queen's Hospital inward Sidcup inward Kent past times recording the progress made past times the soldiers piece Gillies went virtually the procedure of inventing plastic surgery as well as treating patients.  The exhibition includes Tonk's coloured pastel drawings with the dark as well as white photography of the same patients.

Patients treated past times Gillies as well as drawn past times Tonks

One idea which occurred to me this morning at the unveiling was what nosotros were told at the preview of WW1 exhibition. Apparently afterward the First World war, the soldiers who suffered harm to their faces were non treated equally nation of war heroes equally those who suffered the loss of limbs frequently were. Instead the club at the fourth dimension considered them equally existence people who needed to live kept out of sight - non tally to live seen inward public.

It seems to me that 1 of the major achievements of Simon Weston has been the alter inward mental attitude inside this province inward relation to people with major facial disfigurements. 

His woman parent told me that when he came dwelling line of piece of work solid to Wales, Securicor wanted to offering him a job. It turned out that the project on offering was equally a safety guard for closed to vaults inward a basement where he would live working a nighttime shift. 

It seems equally if really footling had changed since the halt of the First World War.

However, Simon's mental attitude to overcoming the challenge of what happened to him has enabled him to aid a lot of other people - able bodied as well as otherwise. He's been able to brand a career equally a really pop populace speaker.

He is also immediately 1 of Patrons of the charity 'Changing Faces' as well as I spoke to its founder as well as CEO this morning. James Partridge OBE told me 

"We're absolutely thrilled for the populace to select somebody they actually honor as well as get got empathy with. His appear upwardly is enormously connected with dignity, push clit as well as inspiration"

He also told me that Simon is the get-go someone who has experienced meaning facial disfigurement to get got a portrait added to the collection of the NPG.  The exclusively someone prior to him was Richard Hillary, a fighter airplane pilot inward the Second World War whose pastel portrait was bequeathed to the Gallery past times his father.

The of import affair is that this portrait is of somebody who has been recognised for his difficult piece of work inward overcoming the challenge presented to him as well as who has gone on to aid as well as awful lot of other people. 

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