FACES OF A CRISIS

The Portraits for NHS Heroes project only began in April, yet it has already become the defining artistic statement of a global crisis. The founder and three participants tell STEVE PILL their stories

- STEVE PILL

On 4 April, Tom Croft posted a short, two-minute video on his Instagram account that would change his life. In the clip to camera, the acclaimed Oxford-based portrait artist was offering to paint a free portrait of the first NHS frontline worker to respond.

Given Tom often paints rock stars, TV presenters and world-class footballers, this was something of a coup. “In days gone by, portraits were a real status symbol and a sign that you’d really achieved something in your life, and it occurs to me that the real heroes of today are obviously working on the frontline of the NHS at the moment,” he reasoned. He added the #portraitsfornhsheroes hashtag and also tagged a number of leading artists to suggest they offer the same.

Tom’s offer was soon accepted by Harriet Durkin, a nurse at Manchester Royal Infirmary. Then the idea began to take off. Over the next fortnight, he worked tirelessly to match 500 artists with grateful NHS workers. The BBC picked up the story and the following morning, he had 500 more emails in his inbox. He developed a traffic-light system of social media posts so that artists could advertise their services directly. Many of Britain’s leading portrait painters signed up and similar initiatives soon started across Europe, the US, Australia and beyond. Over the next eight pages, first Tom and then the artists involved, share their stories.

Were you struggling for motivation when the lockdown began? It must be hard as a portrait painter being stuck without contact to people.