Hold Still: A Portrait of our Nation in 2020

by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge (Introduction), National Portrait Gallery London

Spearheaded by The Duchess of Cambridge, Patron of the National Portrait Gallery, Hold Still was an ambitious community project to create a unique collective portrait of the UK during lockdown. People of all ages were invited to submit a photographic portrait, taken in a six-week period during May and June 2020, focused on three core themes – Helpers and Heroes, Your New Normal and Acts of Kindness. From these, a panel of judges selected 100 portraits, assessing the images on the emotions and experiences they conveyed.

Featured here in this publication, the final 100 images present a unique and highly personal record of this extraordinary period in our history of people of all ages from across the nation. From virtual birthday parties, handmade rainbows and community clapping to brave NHS staff, resilient keyworkers and people dealing with illness, isolation and loss. The images convey humour and grief, creativity and kindness, tragedy and hope – expressing and exploring both our shared and individual experiences. Presenting a true portrait of our nation in 2020, this publication includes a foreword by The Duchess of Cambridge, each image is accompanied by the story behind the picture told through the words of the entrants, and further works show the nationwide outdoor exhibition of Hold Still.

Genres: Nonfiction, Photography

168 pages, Hardcover

Published May 7, 2021

About the author

The Duchess of Cambridge, born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, (9 January 1982 - ) married William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne at Westminster Abbey in April 2011.

Their Royal Highnesses have three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

As well as undertaking royal duties in support of The Queen, both in the UK and overseas, The Duchess devotes her time to supporting a number of charitable causes and organisations, several of which are centred around providing children with the best possible start in life.

Reviews

[Emma Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

it doesn’t really matter about the rating, and doesn’t feel right to rate such an emotive, honest book - i cried from the seventh picture and didn’t really stop until the end.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hadn’t heard about this National Portrait Gallery commission from May 2020 until I saw the resulting coffee table book in the Bestsellers display area of my local library. A panel of judges including the Duchess of Cambridge (patron of the gallery) chose 100 portraits that best represented the UK during the first Covid-19 lockdown and stood out for “the emotions and experiences they convey rather than … their photographic quality or technical expertise” (from an “About the Project” note at the end of the book). In some cases, then, these are just ordinary snaps that wouldn’t mean much if you didn’t read the title and accompanying caption. In other cases, the photos speak for themselves and are undeniably powerful. However, there is a lot of repetition across them: medical professionals in PPE; family members divided by glass; the clichéd experiences of home schooling, Zoom calls, amateur haircuts, clapping and rainbows.

I was most struck by #18, “Prayers for Our Community,” shot from behind a Cheshire vicar and showing him looking out at pews decorated with photos of the parishioners who should have been sitting there; #31, “The First Kiss,” in which a mother is separated from her newborn by layers of plastic and a face mask (can you imagine giving birth in such conditions?!); and #98, “Sister Attending Online Ballet Class,” whose 12-year-old photographer has astutely noted the clash of cultures and generations visible in the Indian grandmother in a sari on the couch watching her granddaughter dancing in Western dress in front of a laptop. It was also fun to see a pane of graffitied photos by Maiden Erlegh schoolkids – we used to live nearby. The book also includes images of the photos being displayed as posters in cities around the UK – the kind of street art I would have seen on my walk to work were I still commuting to Waterloo in London.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hold Still is the result of collective community project to produce a portrait of the UK during lockdown. People from all ages and backgrounds submitted photographs taken between May and June 2020 with the themes of Helpers and Heroes, Your New Normal and Acts of Kindness.
I think there are 100 portraits in total, each accompanied by text giving context to each image. Looking through this book in one sitting takes you through a whole range of emotions as on each page you come face to face with people's hope, loss, isolation, bravery, resilience, acts of kindness , moments of tragedy and grief as well as inspired creativity, joy and humour. In brings to the forefront the shared and individual experiences of a nation struggling to cope with a new normal. The photographs are insightful, moving and sometimes even funny. It's a photography book but it's also a book anyone can appreciate because we have all experienced it. A moving and visually stunning work that documents a time none of us ever envisaged we would experience.

[Griiii · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poignant and moving.

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely book to look through, of course not all in one sitting. Not just because there are so many photo submissions, but reading about the pandemic and especially the lockdown period over a year and a half later felt very real. And hearing these peoples' entries and voices was extremely moving, near to tears. The intention of this book/project was also one meant for reflection, just as its outdoor exhibits were I'm sure. And this companion piece definitely delivers on that element. A very large book too, just in sheer trim size! Definitely a coffee table one, but still pretty big like a typical photo book. Perhaps one you'll want to keep safe though too, as it really is constructed very beautifully.

A job well done to all involved in the whole process! A time capsule from a time in the nation and world's history.

[Emily Hawkes · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Hold Still"

I can't wait to read this book again in say 10 years time to see if it brings up the same emotions in me.

Fair to say some photos spoke to me more than others. Some made me laugh, some made me fight back the tears, some open my mind up to new ideas.

This is a book for history, it's so important to capture a moment in history from a community of views and opinions.

This book is beautiful, emotional and truthful. I had moments in this book were I had to put it down to take it all in 💙

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and emotional portrait in words by a very beloved humanitarian, Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge.

[Nicky Maunder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is absolutely stunning - a beautiful and poignant record of what life was like during the lockdown in 2020. This is a warts and all snapshot of how the Covid-19 pandemic affected people from all walks of life. Everyone. There’s the elderly, the young, the unemployed, the homeschoolers, the emergency responders, the doctors and nurses, the carers and more. A visual record of the heartache, the loneliness, the isolation, the tears, the laughs, the joy, the determination, the human spirit to endure through the pandemic. And it’s a beauty. This brought a tear to my eye on several occasions.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great find browsing at my library. I'd never heard of the 2020 Hold Still project from the UK. A partnership between The Duchess of Cambridge and the National Portrait Gallery. It is 100 photos from the first British lockdown of people at home, and those still at work.

I'm glad I found it, but then I got COVID and read it during my own lockdown of February 2023!

[Emma Dargue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, moving and poignant photographic book that has short essays about each photo which was taken during the pandemic. On more than one occasion I found myself tearing up at how moving each picture was. Just stunning.

[David Margetts · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an excellent accompaniment to my personal Covid Diary 2020-2021, and a wonderful archive of photographs reminding us of the heroics of our 'essential workers' who through determination and drive 'carried on' and supported us through covid, and still do in the current wave of Omicron. It also depicts the lives of so many who were touched by covid in losing loved one's, losing touch with friends and family, struggling with mental health, losing jobs and income, and supporting the children through their education. It has also reminded me of how so many people without their loved one's close by, without financial independence and without open spaces were so much less well off than me and my family. I only hope that the politicians who made so many poor, reckless and disastrous decisions and often thought of themselves and their political futures rather than the people of the Nation, take time to review the images in this book, reflect on their mistakes and learn for the future....alas, that seems to be just unrealistic 'wishful thinking'!!

[Kate Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved looking pictures and photos in this book. Some of the photos brought back memories good and bad. I saw Asda in Gloucester change with a screen on my till and door cubical to hold the staff in near a check out and empty shelves and no meat and toliet rolls, I run out money 💵 in some of the months to flow and lost a good friend to covid which I won't get to see again and I won't be able to go to a pantomime with out thinking about him has a Prince charming and a actor that could actor well in which acting cast he got given. I missed some good friends during the lockdowns year's. I what to live through them again. I saw a story ❤️ merging from every photo and picture. I have got some favourite pictures take by Katherine the duchess of Cambridge. We even had a key gate with a lock put down the other end of my till. Some staff left Asda. I didn't like wearing a mask. But I still can a mask for work because I come through two years of Asda being in lockdowns. Asda is my second home I didn't like the idea of a change to put up with.

[✨arrianne✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely collection of photos from the start of the pandemic (including my talented pal’s one).

The images I preferred were the slightly unsettling ones that brought back what a weird time early 2020 was; I don’t think we should forget that under a storm of anti-vax nonsense and political arseholery and parties.

It was a wee bit England-centric but these things always are, and I am allergic to nonsense union-jack-aren’t-the-brits-uniquely-resilient-wasn’t-Churchill-brilliant nonsense and there were a couple of examples.

Overall a great book to have to look back on a weird time that I’ll definitely go back to.

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an emotional experience for me. It took me right back to the fear and desperation that we all felt at the start of the pandemic. In this book, there are 100 photo depiction of the bravery of life during the first lockdown - with images of front line workers, families, and day to day life, with simple things like home schooling. I got this book in a set of “bookends” so wouldn’t have otherwise read it. I’d heard about the initiative when we went to the National Portrait Gallery, but hadn’t seen the exhibition. I’m so glad I discovered it. It’s available to view for free online: https://www.npg.org.uk/hold-still/

[Deborah Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely moving account of life in the UK during the Pandemic of 2020. Pictures that were taken by the general public giving an insight into loss, stress, work in the NHS, our heroes, home schooling and more. Some pictures brought tears to my eyes as to what a lot of people endured during this dreadful virus. A beautiful book for future generations to read and to witness the suffering our Nation endured.

[Steve Maxwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully presented photographic look at 2020 in Britain.

At times the photos are painstakingly raw, at times a reminder of the ability of human spirit to overcome.

For example the story of 5 year old Tony Hudgell, who as a baby suffered horrific abuse by his parents resulting in the loss of both legs. He saw what Captain Sir Tom Moore was doing and decided he could do that to.

He walked a total of 10 km, hoping to raise £500. He raised over £1.2 million for NHS charities. A true hero.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poignant and heartbreaking, highlighting the sacrifices ordinary people made during lockdown. All the more heartbreaking knowing how members of the government acted during those times, breaking the very laws they made.

[Joanna]

This series of portraits taken during the UK's Covid lockdown is everything that time was: moving, hopeful, sad, infuriating, and rich. I'm glad I took a look, and I think this book will prove a good capsule of a weird and difficult time in history.

[Rhys Causon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating seems unnecessary to do but this shows a lot of genuine emotions that were felt during the first lockdown in 2020.

It must have been hard to decide which pictures to use in the exhibit but there are a lot of pictures that make you stop and think even now, three years later.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a moving, powerful book.

[Cathryn Pattinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good photographic project with a very human theme.
All proceeds from the sale of the book go to the National Portrait Gallery and Charity MIND.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

[Behrooz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great photo record of the worst year of the Pandemic, 2020. Very touching.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. I would recommend that everyone reads it / looks at it. I feel that the photographs encapsulate the pandemic - a period which we have all lived throuigh.

[Ronda Canary · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8

[Jane-Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and heartbreaking reminder of the past few years

[Patti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb book that will go down in history as a chronicle of our times during Covid. The photos will touch your heart and the stories behind them will stay with you long after you finish this book.

[Stephanie Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brings back so many vivid memories. The fear, the loneliness. Excellent book

[Vanessa Taveras · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried with this book.