Europe, Editor’s Pick



A record number of visitors have flocked to the National Portrait Gallery to see an exhibition by artist and TV presenter Grayson Perry.

Grayson Perry poses in front of 'Comfort Blanket' during a photocall for his Channel 4 series Who Are You? at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Grayson Perry poses in front of ‘Comfort Blanket’ during a photocall for his Channel 4 series Who Are You? at the National Portrait Gallery, London. Image by Anthony Devlin/PA Wire

The work, created by Perry during the filming of his Channel 4 series Grayson Perry: Who Are You, includes work inspired by meeting jailed Liberal Democrat MP Chris Huhne and X-Factor contestant Rylan Clark.

Around a quarter of a million people visited the exhibition at the gallery in central London before it closed yesterday, making it the most viewed temporary show in its history.

Visitors view 'The Huhne Vase' during a photocall for his Channel 4 series Who Are You? at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Visitors view ‘The Huhne Vase’ during a photocall for his Channel 4 series Who Are You? at the National Portrait Gallery, London. Image by Anthony Devlin/PA Wire

Clark, who also won Celebrity Big Brother, is painted on a porcelain miniature called The Earl Of Essex.

Among the other works are a vase inspired by Huhne, a former Energy Secretary, decorated with images of penises, speed cameras and his personalised number plate to denote the downfall which led not only to his resignation from the Cabinet but his imprisonment for perverting the course of justice.

Other subjects include a young female to male transsexual and a female convert to Islam.

(Press Association)