By Eric Hadden
London, England- A skillfully crafted portrait can allow a viewer to travel back in time, seeing what life was like in that specific era. From March 5 to May 31, the British Museum is giving visitors this very opportunity by allowing them to see portraits dating back to the Regency and Georgian era of Britain.
The British Museum, located on Great Russell Street in London, England, is showcasing a diverse collection of drawings, miniatures and pastels. The exhibit titled “Intimate Portraits,” features roughly 180 portraits that were created between the 1730s and 1830s. Located in Room 90, visitors have to make a valiant effort to reach the dimly lit room on the 4th floor of the museum.
“Yes, it’s a bit of a walk, but it’s well worth it,” said Dr. Kim Sloan, the British Museum curator responsible for the exhibition.
Sloan co-curated the exhibition with Stephen Lloyd, the Senior Curator at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery which is part of the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh. This is where the exhibit was first seen at the end of last year.
Sloan and Lloyd were responsible for selecting from the permanent collections of the National Galleries. The National Galleries consist of both the Scotland and the British Museum’s, which are national institutions, meaning that all the works in the museums belong to the nation.
Together they selected private images and personal mementoes of portraits created at the heyday of British portraiture. “These images were love tokens and personal mementoes that were meant to be kept as a reminder of a loved one,” said Sloan.
“By studying these pieces of art, viewers get a glimpse of a diverse group of past British people, ranging from the lower middle class to royalty,” said Katrina Whenham, the Museum Press Officer. Whenham is responsible for arranging the press releases and contacting all the press that she thinks might be interested in reviewing the exhibition and liaising with them.
Though all of the pieces that hang in Room 90 are portraits, they differ immensely in the type of media that they were created with. The different portraits that overrun the gallery range from watercolors and pencil, to chalk and portraits on ivory. Some of the well known sitters include actors and celebrities including Lady Hamilton, and political and literary figures such as Sir Walter Scott, the Duke of Wellington, Robert Burns and the young Queen Victoria.
“The portraits deserve to be studied up close, and the layout and setting of the Print Galleries make this possible, said Whenham. “Many of the pieces are unframed and presented in wall cabinets with a leaning shelf in front of them. This allows the interested viewer to come in close, letting them linger and absorb the finer points of pastel shading or pencil suggestion,” said Whenham.
“I think they (portraits) are very romanticized with their rosy cheeks and soft features. They’re lovely. My favorites so far are of (Mary) Hamilton, and ones done by John Hoppner,” said Leah Sullivan, who is visiting from Wells, England.
When the exhibit ends on May 31, the pieces will go back into their usual storage places in the student rooms where they can be seen there on request.
“We thought about sending it on tour, but we are still negotiating and it’s not looking like it will happen,” said Sloan. “The student room in the British Museum is off the room where the exhibition was held and is open to the public from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. from four to five days a week.”
Reporting in the British Isles 
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