National Portrait Gallery Adds Sensitivity Labels to T. E. Lawrence Images in Arab Dress

Overview

• Two online portraits of T. E. Lawrence in Arab clothing now display a disclaimer describing them as historical works.
• A photograph from 1917 and a sketch by Augustus John are labeled, while images of Lawrence not in Arab dress are not.
• The gallery applied similar notices to portraits of Europeans depicted in non‑Western attire, including Lord Byron, Giovanni Belzoni, Edward Lane, and Sir Herbert Benjamin Edwardes.
• The labels appear on the National Portrait Gallery website and highlight potential sensitivities around cross‑cultural dress.
• Coverage notes Lawrence wrote that Emir Faisal asked him to wear Arab clothes and that the garments were provided to him during the First World War.