(Yicai) March 18 -- An exhibition about British literary figures, including William Shakespeare, the Brontë sisters, Lewis Carroll, J.R.R. Tolkien, and J.K. Rowling, has opened at the Shanghai Museum East.

“Writers Revealed: Treasuries From British Collections and the National Portrait Gallery, London” is co-hosted by the Shanghai Museum and the NPG, with the British Library taking part in the curation. It runs from today until July 13.

Covering 82 writers, the exhibition has 135 exhibits, including portraits, manuscripts, first editions, and letters, and marks the first time that NPG collections have been shown in the Chinese mainland, representing a milestone in China-United Kingdom cultural exchanges.

This is the first time that so many portraits, the majority of which were painted during the lifetimes of the writers, have been displayed together with related literary works, according to Anna Starling, deputy director of the NPG.

Shanghai is the last stop for the traveling exhibition, which was previously shown in Australia and South Korea.

“Writers Revealed” has received generous support from Durham University, University of Leeds, University of Nottingham, the Senate House Library of the University of London, the Blackie House Library and Museum, the Wordsworth Trust, the Wisbech and Fenland Museum, Peter Harrington Rare Books, and private collectors from across the UK.

A banner featuring a portrait of William Shakespeare hangs inside the Shanghai Museum East.

This portrait of Shakespeare, an oil on canvas by John Taylor, is believed to be the only one of the bard painted during his lifetime. 

A sketch of J.K. Rowling by Stuart Pearson Wright, capturing the moment the magic was born.

A portrait of John Keats by Joseph Severn. It is on display in the “In Search of the Author” section, where images of writers such as John Donne, Virginia Woolf, and Dylan Thomas, are being shown.

The National Portrait Gallery’s Anna Starling attends a press conference.

Editor: Futura Costaglione