Bill Morris
- Artist: John Keane
- Date: 2005
- Medium: oil on inkjet printed cotton mounted on canvas
- Dimensions: 45 1/4 in. x 37 7/8 in. (1150 mm x 963 mm)
- Portrays: William ('Bill') Manuel Morris, Baron Morris of Handsworth
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
Before you is the portrait “Bill Morris” by John Keane, painted in 2005. The canvas shows him standing just outside Transport House in Holborn, the headquarters of the Transport and General Workers Union. The background is a digitally printed cotton image that gives the impression of the London sky in a bright blue reminiscent of Caribbean light – a nod to his Jamaican roots.
Keane has mixed media here: the inkjet‑printed backdrop contrasts with a painterly three‑quarter view of Morris’s face, rendered in oil. His collar is open, suggesting informality and the humanism he brought to his long career as union leader. The Union’s London office can be seen in the background – the very building that housed his work from 1992 to 2003.
This portrait captures not only a man but also the place that shaped his public life.
See it in person
Bill Morris is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
