Sir Elton John reclines on a sofa alongside his husband David Furnish in a new picture now on display at the National Portrait Gallery. The pair, who attended the unveiling at the iconic London venue on Monday evening, also appear in the work alongside their two teenage sons.
The family-of-four are seen posing in what appears to be the living room of their home in the village of Old Windsor, which is close to Windsor Castle. Also present in the shot, which features a wraparound bookcase and other sumptuous furnishings, are their two Labradors, called Joseph and Jacob.
Elton, 78, and David, 63, who met in 1993 at a dinner party more than three decades ago, have raised Zachary, 15, and Elijah, 13, largely out of the spotlight. The legendary singer and filmmaker, who entered a civil partnership in 2005 and married in 2014, have made rare red carpet appearances with their sons and recently broke tradition by sharing their faces on social media for the first time.
The picture, which was taken by photographer Catherine Opie, is now hung in the gallery's Mary Weston Gallery. The unveiling also marked the opening of her exhibition, 'Catherine Opie: To Be Seen'.
© Catherine Opie / PA
© David Parry / National Portrait Gallery / PAIn a joint statement, Elton and David said: "To have our family photographed by Catherine Opie and on display at the National Portrait Gallery is a huge honour. We are huge admirers of her work and proud to have her beautiful and poignant images in our collection."
Speaking of the process of taking the portrait, Opie shared: "I arrived at Elton and David's house three days before Christmas. I met the boys and the dogs and after a great lunch together, I made this family portrait of them in their library. It is truly an honour to photograph Elton, David, Zachary and Elijah. For me, it represents the humanity of what family can be."
© AFP via Getty Images
© Hello!Elton has shared snippets into how he is finding fatherhood in the past. During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2016, he said: "If you'd had said to me 10 years ago I’d be sitting on your show married to the man I love and have two beautiful children I would have said, 'You put acid in my drink'."
© Corbis via Getty ImagesHowever, the star, who welcomed his sons with David via surrogate, continued: "But life throws you challenges and life throws you curveballs - great curveballs - and these two children have come along at a time I never thought I’d have children. There’s no words to describe how much we love these boys. They're just amazing."
