A portrait of education campaigner Malala Yousafzai by
Jonathan Yeo is to go on display for the first time at the National Portrait
Gallery.
The 16-year-old
was attacked by gunmen in Pakistan in 2012, following her campaign for girls to
have the right to attend school.
Yeo said it was
an "honour" to paint a portrait of "one of the most inspiring
figures of our age".
The portrait
shows Malala doing her homework and is larger than life-size.
It will go on
display alongside several previously un-exhibited Yeo portraits of well-known
figures, such as Damien Hirst and Kevin Spacey.
Malala was shot
in the head on a school bus by Taliban gunmen on her way home from school in
October 2012.
She was flown
to Birmingham for treatment and now lives in the city.
Yeo first met
Malala and her family in April, when she had just started school in the UK and
was still recovering from her injuries.
'Great privilege'
He said it was
"a great privilege to spend some time with Malala and her family at such a
pivotal moment in her life".
"Given how
much she has already been through and all that she represents to the world, it
took a while to adjust to the fact that she is still a very fragile teenager.
"Hopefully
the painting reflects the slight paradox of representing someone with enormous
power and wisdom yet vulnerability and youth at the same time," he said.
The portrait
will be auctioned later for Malala's charity fund, which campaigns for girls'
rights to education.
The teenager,
who has recently been awarded the International Children's Peace Prize, said
she was "honoured that the National Portrait Gallery should wish to hang
my picture and touched that Jonathan asked to paint me. I think that he has
really captured me in the image."
"Jonathan
has been extremely kind in donating the portrait to The Malala Fund and it is
wonderful to know that many children will ultimately be able to benefit from
the money raised from its sale," she added.
Source: BBC
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