We’re pleased to partner with the National Portrait Gallery to display one of the only surviving likenesses of Emily Brontë – Branwell Brontë’s ‘Gun Group’ portrait – here in the Museum.
After his ‘Pillar Portrait’ of his three sisters, Branwell’s best-known painting is his profile portrait of Emily – the last fragment of a family group composition known as the ‘Gun Group’, painted when Branwell was about seventeen years old. Destroyed by Arthur Bell Nicholls after Charlotte Brontë’s death, the remaining scrap of the ‘Gun Group’ portrait only survives because Arthur thought the depiction of Emily was a good likeness.
Today, this painting is among the most popular works in London’s National Portrait Gallery, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to display Emily’s portrait in the Brontë Parsonage Museum throughout August, September and October for Museum visitors to experience. This is a wonderful opportunity for residents in Bradford to view this iconic portrait in their local area, as Bradford celebrates being the UK City of Culture 2025.
On display from 1 August - 31 October
