Tony Blair, MP

© Parliamentary Art Collection. Image credit: Parliamentary Art Collection

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The only formal portrait of Tony Blair to be painted whilst he was Prime Minister. It was commissioned by the Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art in the House of Commons. The sittings took place at Chequers shortly before he left office in June 2007. Hale's work is largely figurative, with the emphasis on the isolated figure and often with a strong confrontational element. Of painting Mr Blair, Phil Hale commented: 'I saw my role as a documentarist, and tried – accordingly – to remain as transparent a presence as possible. Any filtering or shaping would have distorted and devalued the piece; it had a very pure set of demands and limitations. Blair himself was very accommodating – I was lucky to see him at Chequers, and lucky that he had more pressing concerns than prettifying himself for a picture.

Title

Tony Blair, MP

Date

2008

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 135.6 x W 105.5 cm

Accession number

WOA 6791

Work type

Painting

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Parliamentary Art Collection

The Curator's Office, Department of Information Services, House of Commons, 1 Canon Row, Greater London SW1A 0AA England

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