Bob Dylan to Display Pastel Portraits at National Art Gallery Exhibition

A new exhibition of pastel artwork by music legend Bob Dylan is set to open at London's National Portrait Gallery.

Bob Dylan: Face Value will feature 12 pastel portraits by the 72-yeart old singer/songwriter and is scheduled to open at the London-based British museum later this month.

According to the gallery, the works "are not of subjects from British public life, past or present, nor are they made by a working portrait artist" but simply a combination of real and fictitious characters, which have been constructed from Dylan's imagination and personal memories.

"There is an indirect but delightful relationship with Dylan, who is one of our great, even extraordinary storytellers," said NPG director Sandy Nairne.

"To have his stories in visual form, to allow the viewer to make their own stories from his work, is intriguing."

It will be first time the Knockin' On Heaven's Door singer's work will have been shown in a British museum. He has previously had his work exhibited at the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz in Germany, the HalcyonGallery in London and the Gagosian Gallery in New York.

The display is a departure for the gallery, which is known for showcasing portraits of high-profile Britons.

But art historian John Elderfield, who helped bring the display to the Gallery, said that the paintings were the "products of the same extraordinary, inventive imagination" behind Dylan's songs.

Bob Dylan: Face Value, a free exhibition, runs from 24 August to 5 January next year at the National Portrait Gallery.