Faces of Change: Nature's Champions at Attingham

Faces of Change: Nature’s Champions is a partnership exhibition between the National Trust and the National Portrait Gallery, London and will be on display in the Picture Gallery at Attingham from Saturday 22 June to Sunday 8 September. This exhibition will give people from Shropshire, the wider Midlands and Mid Wales area the chance to see world-class portraits closer to home this summer.

The exhibition is drawn from the National Portrait Gallery collection with works from the nineteenth century to the present, including outstanding paintings, sculptures, photographs and recent commissions. Sitters include portraits of gardeners from Gertrude Jekyll to Bob Flowerdew, key figures of the Romantic movement including William Wordsworth, and early radicals and reformers such as William Morris and Octavia Hill.

More recent figures include animal welfare and agriculture campaigners Linda McCartney and Prince Charles, and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough. These are complemented by images of figures at the forefront of conservation and research, including Dame Jane Goodall and James Lovelock. In each case, the exhibition will chart the sitters’ importance in our evolving understanding of the natural world and how best to protect it.

An exhibition for the whole family

We’re looking forward to welcoming families to Faces of Change: Nature’s Champions. This family friendly exhibition has been contributed to by staff, volunteers and local school children, and there will be dedicated family activities around 12 of the portraits that captured the interest of the children and team.

In the gallery there will be a children’s guide, cartoons, and information about the 12 portraits, written with young people in mind. Upstairs on the first floor children will be able to draw their own Nature’s Champion. Activities during the exhibition winclude ‘Help make a cartoon caricature’ with cartoonist Malcolm Whittall on 20 and 28 July, and 3,10,18 and 31 August. Visit the Attingham What’s On page of the website for more information about events and activities.

Admission to the exhibition

The exhibition will be on display in the Picture Gallery of the Mansion, open daily from 11am with last entry at 4.30pm. If you're not a member of the National Trust our admission prices can be found here. Admission to Attingham (including the exhibition) is free for National Trust members and under 5s.

The exhibition is part of a year-long visitor programme ‘Grow Your Green Roots’ highlighting the work to conserve and protect nature on Attingham’s 4,000 acre estate.

Faces of Change: Nature’s Champions is part of the National Trust 2019 Programme ‘People’s Landscapes’ and will also be on display at two other National Trust places during the year.

At Dunham Massey from 23 March to 9 June, for more information click here.

At Upton House from 21 September to 9 December, for more information click here.