Kate Moss is featured without makeup in a new official portrait taken by Corrine Day. The new portrait will be a permanent fixture for the National Portrait Gallery in London, whose spokesman said the following:

Forming one large work, each element of the portrait reveals a different expression, at times facing the camera head-on, at others in conversation or in quiet contemplation.

From the expressions within the nine different frames taken in December 2006, one wonders if Kate is talking about her eternal source of frustration, Pete Doherty. Corrine Day is a photographer known for her hard-edged documentary style and generally forges close friendships with her subjects to facilitate the intimate and candid results.

Corrine and Kate helped launch each other’s careers in 1993 when they were both neophytes in their respective trades. Kate sees little difference in her thirty-something self and her fourteen-year old waif look: “I’ve got crooked teeth, bow legs and a wonky nose.” Corrine has much more to say:

I suggested to Kate that we have a conversation about a serious subject. The subject she chose to talk about revealed her true feelings and in turn defined her character.

I wanted the shots to be genuine, so that when people look at them, each picture will say something different.

It’s a cross-section of her personality – she was a little girl before and now she’s a woman. Obviously there’s life experience in her face, but she’s still beautiful.

The newly-commissioned portrait will display on February 12 of this year.

For the pop art enthusiasts, Flea has the scoop on the Kylie Minogue exhibit in London.

Below are some of the infamous shots taken by Corrine Day for Vogue magazine in 1993.

Images: Corrine Day