George V
Medium
Drawing
Classification
Drawing
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Time magazine
Accession Number
NPG.78.TC399
Tags
About this artwork
In 1978, Time magazine donated approximately eight hundred works of original cover art to the National Portrait Gallery. The museum is dedicated to telling the stories of individuals who have shaped the United States, and the Time Collectionâfeaturing prominent international figures and eventsâenriches our understanding of the United States in a global context.
Art Historical Context
In 1932, American artist Samuel Johnson Woolf created this striking drawing of King George V, the longstanding monarch of the United Kingdom and Emperor of, for a *Time* magazine cover. Capturing the king in regal profile with his signature beard, mustache, and neatly knotted necktie, the portrait conveys quiet authority and dignity. Woolf, active from 1880 to 1948, was renowned for his deft portrait drawings that brought world leaders to life in print, blending precision with immediacy suited to magazine deadlines. This work is part of the extraordinary *Time* Collection, donated by the maga...