One of the must-see exhibitions of the century!

HOTA (Home of the Arts) at the Gold Coast has scooped the more prestigious galleries, such as the Louvre, with the global debut of Writers Revealed: Treasures from the British Library and National Portrait Gallery. The carefully crafted exhibition celebrates six centuries of portraits and rare manuscripts of multiple literary icons, giving a tender and enlightening insight into some of the most famous authors and playwrights in history.

The boon for HOTA and Australia makes this one of the must-see exhibitions of the century!

It is an unprecedented collaboration between two British institutions which are repositories for literary and artistic treasures. The British Library has over 170 million items in its archives, and the National Portrait Gallery houses the largest and most valuable collection of portraits in the world. 

The exhibition is divided into five themed “Chapters” featuring some of the most famous writers, including William Shakespeare, Rudyard Kipling, and Beatrix Potter. Each portrait and manuscript or letter gives a rare insight into the people behind the prose and plays. To gaze upon the original and only known painting of Shakespeare painted from life by John Taylor and donated by Francis Egerton, the First Earl of Ellesmere, is a once-in-a-lifetime event for most Australians. 

There are over 100 rare manuscripts, personal letters and first-edition books, accompanied by 70 original portraits of the authors. It was amazing to see Pooh Bear sketches by E.H. Shepard and a unique photograph of the Dracula creator, Bram Stoker, who was quite unlike the Gothic image one might imagine. 

The exhibition will feature prominent and influential literary figures from the 16th century to the present day, including William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, William Blake, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and contemporary luminaries such as Sir Kazuo Ishiguro and Zadie Smith.  

Catharine MacLeod, the Senior Curator of 17th Century Collections at the National Portrait Gallery, commented, “Featuring treasures that rarely leave our Gallery in London, this major new exhibition will bring HOTA’s visitors closer to some of the most important figures in English literary history, from William Shakespeare to Zadie Smith.”

The Lead Curator, Alexandra Ault, for the Modern Archives and Manuscripts at the British Library, was thrilled to collaborate with the National Portrait Gallery on Writers Revealed, describing it as “a truly unique exhibition that brings together some of the most exceptional objects from our collections”. Unfortunately, not all of the manuscripts are originals, as they were too precious to be shipped to the subtropical climate of Queensland, and a facsimile is presented in their place. 

There are more modern revelations, with an unfolded portrait of the Brontë sisters found hidden on the top of a wardrobe and a first edition of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. 

As you proceed through the exhibition, the revelations keep coming. It was shocking to see how many famous writers died young and yet still managed to leave such a lasting legacy. The masculine-looking George Elliot seems to have embraced her pseudonym, and Percy Shelley was a delicate-faced dreamboat.

Activism and provocative publications abound, featuring authors such as Sylvia Pankhurst, Zadie Smith, and Salman Rushdie. Each author is enlightening and gives a personal insight, triggered by a painting, a diary entry or a casual letter to a friend.

This unprecedented exhibition at the HOTA of literary treasures from England is the first of its kind in the world and everyone should visit to experience the profound and individual legacies of such a diverse range of 500 years of English literature.