Elton John Portrait Hung
A family portrait of Sir Elton John, taken by acclaimed photographer Catherine Opie, was officially hung in Britain's National Portrait Gallery. The portrait features Elton John, husband David Furnish, their children Zachary and Elijah, and their two black Labradors — capturing both celebrity and intimate family life.
The new addition to the National Portrait Gallery is the first portrait of the Furnish-John family to enter a national collection. The photograph was taken by acclaimed American artist Catherine Opie at the family's home in Old Windsor just three days before Christmas in 2025. Opie is renowned for her work exploring queer subcultures and documenting LGBTQ+ communities since the 1990s. This family portrait is thematically linked to her seminal "Domestic" series from the late 1990s, which featured tender depictions of lesbian couples and families in their home environments. Sir Elton John and David Furnish were already admirers and collectors of Opie's work before this commission. The portrait now hangs in Room 30, the Mary Weston Gallery, as part of the contemporary collection. Its unveiling coincides with the opening of "Catherine Opie: To Be Seen," the first major exhibition of the artist's work in a UK institution, which will survey her photographic portraits from the past 30 years. Beyond his musical achievements, the portrait celebrates Sir Elton's long-standing commitment to LGBTQ+ visibility and philanthropy. He and Furnish, who married in 2014, are noted advocates for LGBTQ+ rights and have raised hundreds of millions to combat HIV/AIDS through the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
