In the 40th anniversary year of Terrence Higgins Trust, the National Portrait Gallery unveils new posthumous commission of Terry Higgins by Curtis Holder
I am proud to announce that my posthumous portrait of Terry Higgins - one of the first people in the UK to die of an AIDS related illness - has been acquired by the the National Portrait Gallery as part of the permanent collection.
Commissioned by Terrence Higgins Trust – the first charity in the UK to be set up in response to the HIV epidemic – the portrait is being unveiled in the charity’s 40th year to mark what would have been Terry’s 78th birthday.
Terry Higgins – Three Ages of Terry (2023) will be displayed for the first time when the Gallery reopens on 22 June in the Making the Modern World gallery, a space dedicated to some the most important figures of the 20th century.
The portrait was drawn in coloured pencil from personal photographs and memories shared by Terry’s partner and one of the founding members of Terrence Higgins Trust, Rupert Whitaker OBE. It shows three images of Terry - as a teenager in the navy, as a young man and as a middle-aged man, with his moustache just visible.
The drawing is a celebration of Terry the man: his humanity, physicality and sexuality. The time I spent Rupert gave me a real sense of those facets of him. His passions, strengths and vulnerabilities became very real and I wanted the portrait to offer a snapshot of the stages of his short and impactful life, and to show how those individual parts informed the whole.
Born on 10 June 1945, Terry left his Welsh hometown, Haverfordwest as a young man and moved to London. By day, he worked as a reporter in the House of Commons, and by night, he was a bartender and DJ. Terry collapsed in Heaven nightclub in Soho while at work in 1982, and just a few months later, he died at St Thomas’ hospital, London, on 4 July, aged 37. The Terrence Higgins Trust was established by Rupert Whitaker and Terry’s close friend Martyn Butler OBE, and has continually fought for change since Terry’s death – raising awareness of the virus and helping to destigmatise HIV.
A heartfelt thank you to the Terrence Higgins Trust and the National Portrait Gallery for their faith and support with the commission, and in particular to Rupert for trusting me with his precious memories of Terry.
Terry Higgins - Three Ages of Terry, coloured pencil on paper, 42 x 29.7 cm, 2023