Lucian Freud Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery will open until midnight from 24-26 May, in the lead up to the last day of the most popular paid-for exhibition in the gallery’s history, it was announced today (30 April). Gallery figures released today reveal that since it opened on 9 February 2012, Lucian Freud Portraits has attracted over 175, 000 visitors so far, overtaking its previous record-breaking paying exhibitions Mario Testino Portraits (2002), David Hockney Portraits (2006) and Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life (2008).

The extra tickets for the midnight openings on Thursday 24, Friday 25 and Saturday 26 May will go on sale today only (via Ticketmaster) at www.npg.org.uk/freud or by phone (0844 248 5033). The Gallery’s Portrait Restaurant will be taking bookings for dinner until 9.30pm and the exhibition shop will also be open.

As well as the newly-released allocation, tickets are still available for a number of timed entry slots (also on the Gallery’s website or by phone) throughout May. Prior to the midnight opening, the exhibition is open until 9pm on Thursdays and Fridays, as part of the Gallery’s Late Shift programme of late night openings with talks and events and bar, sponsored by FTI Consulting, and 9pm on Saturdays. Advance tickets for admission throughout the run are also available in person from the Ticket Desk in the Gallery and at least 500 are available every day for on-the-day admission to walk-in visitors.

To avoid queuing, for just £45 visitors can become a Gallery Member which gives them free, immediate access to the exhibition and other benefits including free admission to all Gallery exhibitions for one year. (Visitors can also become Members online, with their confirmation email entitling them to free entry to Lucian Freud Portraits when presented at the Membership Desk).

The Gallery recommends that visitors arrive early to avoid disappointment and strongly advises against buying tickets from unauthorised ticket sellers. Sandy Nairne, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, London, says: ‘The National Portrait Gallery is delighted that Lucian Freud Portraits is proving so popular. Visitors are coming to the Gallery to experience the sheer brilliance found across seven decades of portraits by one of Britain’s greatest artists.’

Behaviour Lucilla Barbieri: an absolutely captivating collection made to dress a special woman Charming and refined, with a touch of modern sensuality. It’s summertime and it is the right moment to discover new colours and new design proposals. The collection Behaviour-Lucilla Barbieri loves to amaze; for the spring summer season there is a wide selection of proposals that show a new attitude, with a strong and nonconformist character.

“The Behaviour woman looks for both emotionality and quality.” Being themselves at all times is the real motivation of the choice in style of every woman suggested by Lucilla Barbieri. The use of volumes redesigns the rules of the wardrobe of Behaviour. The modernity is found in the mixture: the use of different layers make this collection versatile.

The line finds its maximum definition with the use of volumes: the large pant is combined with a slim tanktop, while a large cardigan is worn with a skinny pant.

The collection is mainly inspired by the men’s clothes that have been reviewed and transformed to become very feminine, but still practical and with a lot of grit.

The outerwear provides portability and comfort, never renouncing to a glamourous style. The care for details, like the red yarn stitchings and the buttons of various materials, complete the outfits of the collection. For the summer Behaviour presents very charming colour combinations.

The colour palette is light and soft, but it is lightened up by bright colours. The candy and pearl colours like off white and water green are combined with bluette, mustard, tobacco and mastic.

Colours like fucsia and pink have been used in the prints of the t-shirts. There is a great research for quality in the fabrics, with the use of special treatments and washings that give to the garments a used aspect. The natural yarns like linen, cotton and silk have a special and shiny softness.

The denims are proposed in different styles and washings which take their inspiration from the urban and streetwear life. This “historical” fabric is presented in various colours or models that are enriched by a dirty and worn-out aspect.

The models go from the classic 5 pockets to the slimmest model very tight on the ancles and to the very comfortable overall that can be easily combined with different accessories. Website: www.behaviour.it

A new portrait of Shami Chakrabarti, Director of campaign group Liberty, has gone on display at the National Portrait Gallery. The photographic portrait is a commission and the first work by British artist Gillian Wearing to enter the Gallery’s Collection. The black and white portrait was taken with a large-format camera and shows Chakrabarti holding a wax mask of herself hanging from a ribbon.

The notion of the ‘mask’ has previously occupied Wearing, but for this commission the idea was initially prompted by Chakrabarti who commented to Wearing that her public persona is mask-like, often interpreted as ‘grim’, ‘worthy’ and ‘strident’. Chakrabarti first sat for the portrait in September 2010, when she was digitally scanned for the wax mask – preferable to a plaster life-cast as it does not distort features.

The mask was carefully sculpted and coloured, and includes glass eyes. Chakrabarti then returned to Gillian’s studio in April 2011 to be photographed with the mask. The medium, clarity and composition of this image is reminiscent of the studio portraits of photographer August Sander (1876-1964), whose work has always interested Wearing. Thematically, it makes links to works in the Gallery’s historic Collection that employ masks, including portraits of the actors’ Sarah Siddons by Sir William Beechey and David Garrick by Johann Zoffany.

Wearing’s work is an example of a mask portrait which explores a contemporary sitter’s shifting sense of self. It is particularly potent in the portrayal of Chakrabarti, a public figure whose work often raises issues relating to privacy and identity. Born in London, of Indian heritage, Chakrabarti trained as a barrister and was called to the bar in 1994. She worked as a lawyer at the Home Office for Conservative and Labour governments (1996-2001) before joining Liberty as in-house counsel in 2001 and became Director in 2003.

Chakrabarti has written, spoken and broadcast on the importance of the post-World War Two human rights framework as an essential component of democratic society, which includes spearheading specific campaigns on issues such as detention without charge, stop-and-search, and ID cards. She is Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University, a Governor of the London School of Economics and a Master of the Bench of Middle Temple.

Turner Prize-winning artist Wearing uses photography and video to explore the disparities between public and private life and between individual and collective experience. Her works include the photographic series, Signs that Say What You Want Them to Say and Not Signs that Say What Someone Else Wants You to Say (1992-3) made shortly after her graduation from Goldsmiths College, Sixty Minutes Silence (1996), Family History (2006), and a series of photographic self-portraits showing the artist in the guise of members of her family and also other artists, by painstakingly recreating existing photographs using masks and sets. Her work is currently the subject of a major exhibition at Whitechapel Gallery until 17 June 2012 www.whitechapel.org.uk.

Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty, says: ‘Gillian Wearing is one of the most important artists in modern Britain with an insight that celebrates the extraordinary in the ordinariness of our lives and aspirations. It is wonderful that her work will be represented in the National Portrait Gallery and it was a pleasure and honour to sit for her.’ Sandy Nairne, Director of the National Portrait Gallery says, ‘Gillian Wearing’s double image of Shami Chakrabarti is a powerful portrait of a woman who is making an exceptional contribution to civil liberties and human rights.

This newly commissioned portrait is the latest to be supported by J.P. Morgan, and demonstrates their commitment to creativity and the arts.’ Carol Lake, Head of EMEA Philanthropy and Sponsorship says: ‘J.P. Morgan is delighted to support the National Portrait Gallery’s Fund for New Commissions. Great people and great art encourage important discussion and debate. This portrait of Shami Chakrabarti by Gillian Wearing is an excellent addition to the collection with which we are proud to be associated. ‘ The portrait was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery’s Trustees with support from J.P. Morgan through the Fund for New Commissions. Shami Chakrabati is on display from 18 April 2012 until 22 April 2012 in the National Portrait Gallery’s Contemporary Galleries (Room 40).

The portrait will then go on display again from Wednesday 27th June.Opening: Thursday, Fridays:10am - 9pm (Gallery closure commences at 8.50pm) Recorded information: 020 7312 2463 General information: 020 7306 0055 Website: www.npg.org.uk