Erin Enright Garvan (a fellow Marlborough violet), her son Luke, and I visited the National Portrait Gallery for this small but awesome exhibit on Thursday. About halfway to the tube, I realized I left my camera in the flat...bummer! No turning back. Good thing because I couldn't take photos of the exhibit, although I would have loved to get a picture of Erin, Luke, and I. Next time!

It was a perfect day to be inside. After 3 days of exceptional sunny bliss, Thursday was overcast and drizzly. My spirits were lifted by this exhibit--I'm a pop culture junky. The iconic photo of pregnant and nude Demi Moore was of course on display. It wasn't nearly as provocative as I remember...guess that goes to show how far we've travelled. My favorites were the group photos -- an old one of a ballet company all on point...just beautiful--and the 9/11 firefighters...very powerful. There was also a larger than life Margaret Thatcher that drew me in...steel fragility. What I thought was interesting was the change in "beautiful" from the 1913 photo portraits to the 1990 photo portraits, as well as the impact of "technological enhancement" on the subjects. The current portraits are literally works of art. Remastered and airbrushed for perfection. Check out the website for more: http://www.npg.org.uk/vanityfair/index.htm

After strolling through the exhibit, we walked along the Thames to the Tate Modern Museum for lunch. Erin's membership gained us access to the members lounge -- a beautiful floor with cafe, lounge, and 180 view of the city. Definitely a sanctuary from the masses of visitors in the museum. I had my favorite English tea sandwich - egg salad with watercress and delighted at the bread selection of sourdough! I was a happy camper...doesn't take much. After lunch, Erin and Luke had to dash so I puttered around the museum bookstore. Mental note: great place for interesting books for my artistic family and friends.