Hi there, Peter here, and I have been reading today that the iconic red, white and blue portrait of US President-elect Barack Obama will become part of the permanent collection at the US National Portrait Gallery. The Washington DC gallery has acquired the stencilled image by Los Angeles-based street artist Shepard Fairey. Curators at the Smithsonian Institution museum plan to hang it by Inauguration Day on 20 January. The gallery usually acquires official portraits of presidents as they are leaving office. An official portrait of Mr Obama will be added later, and a portrait of President George W Bush was unveiled at the gallery in December. Fairey's mixed-media work depicts Mr Obama with the word Hope. The image - later modified with the messages of Change and Vote - became one of the most memorable images from the 2008 election. It appeared on thousands of stickers, posters and T-shirts across the country. "What I think is so fascinating is the ubiquitous natu! re," said Carolyn Carr, deputy director of the Portrait Gallery. "When people think of a portrait of Obama, they think of this image." Fairey's works are also in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. If you would like to see this image, it is currently on the bbc.co.uk website.
Mr Darcy Portrait for Sale I am sure all the ladies will remember the 1995 BBC One adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and how Elizabeth Bennett looked longingly at Mr Darcys portrait in the Great Hall at Pemberly . I have been reading today that the portrait of actor Colin Firth as Mr Darcy, used as a prop in this, is to go under the hammer at a London auction later this month. The oil painting, together with a signed letter from the star, is expected to raise £7,000 at the Bonhams sale on 21 January. Proceeds will be split between Oxfam and the Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group. The role of Mr Darcy earned Firth his heart-throb status. The accompanying letter from the star describes the journey the painting undertook to ensure it resembled the actor. "He started life as a much less engaging approximation of an even less engaging photograph," Between 10 and 11 million people watched the original six-episode broadcast of Pride and Prejudice on BBC One when it first aired in 1995. I will be chatting to actor actor Adrian Lester tomorrow on my BBC Radio Humberside lunchtime programme on 95.9FM, 1485AM or on DAB. Adrian plays Mickey Stone, the star of Hustle. Adrian was born in Birmingham and he won the prestigious Olivier Award in 1996 for his appearance in Company. Adrian Lester returns to the role of Mickey "Bricks" Stone for the fifth series of BBC One's hit con drama, Hustle. Robert Glenister and Robert Vaughn also return as Mickey's fellow con artists, Ash "Three Socks" Morgan and Albert Stroller. I dont know if you have seen the trailer, but the new female lead reminds me a lot of our own Siobhan Robbins I do hope she hasnt been moonlighting! If you miss it, you can listen again at bbc.co.uk/humberside. I will see you on Look North tonight at 6.30pm, as usual. Take care. Bye for now. Peter And for the latest news and more where you live, go to: http://bbc.co.uk/humber and http://bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the BBC Look North newsletter, go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/looknorthhull/newsletter/newsletter_index.shtml, enter your email address in the unsubscribe box. Your email address will be held by the BBC and kept confidential, and will only be used in relation to this newsletter. You will be given the option to unsubscribe from this newsletter each time you receive it. Please visit the BBC's Privacy & Cookies Policy (www.bbc.co.uk/privacy) for more information.
