Sleeping Beckham
Wednesday, April 28, 2004

Fans used to seeing soccer star David Beckham in motion on the field can now study him at rest in bed.

An hour-long "video portrait" of Beckham asleep after training in Madrid, where he plays for the Real Madrid team, goes on display at the National Portrait Gallery on Tuesday.

Beckham's chiseled features are among the most famous in Britain, and they've been even more widely seen than usual since the publication this month of allegations that he was unfaithful to his celebrity wife, the ex-Spice Girl Victoria.

The gallery, which houses portraits of famous Britons in every field, said Monday that the Beckham piece, titled "David," was "intriguing and intimate." It was shot in a single, long take and runs in a continuous loop on a plasma screen.

Gallery director Sandy Nairne, clearly pleased with the portrait, told Channel 4 TV, "It is very immediate and I think rather powerful."

Artist Sam Taylor-Wood said it was a challenge to make an original portrait of Beckham, one of the world's best-known athletes, because people see his image so frequently.

"I wanted to create a direct, closely observed study," she said in a statement released by the museum. "Filming while he was asleep produces a different view from the many familiar, public images."

Her piece focuses on the star's face as he lies on his side, his head resting on one hand while the other curls beneath his chin.

"I liked the idea that he was eternally asleep in the National Portrait Gallery, so he was kind of a Sleeping Beauty," Taylor-Wood told Channel 4.

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