William Ewart Gladstone (1809-98) Prime Minister

Location

Country: Bulgaria
City: Sofia
Place: British Embassy

John Everett Millais studied at the Royal Academy Schools, where he exhibited his first work at the age of 16. While at the Academy he formed lasting friendships with William Holman Hunt and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Together they founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 and Millais is now widely considered to have been the most accomplished painter of the group. After distancing himself from the Brotherhood to adopt a more popular style, he was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1853. From 1860 onwards he produced a succession of works which brought him considerable success and became a fashionable society portraitist. Millais died at the age of 76, just a few months after being appointed President of the Royal Academy.
Thomas Oldham Barlow was born in Oldham, Lancashire; the son of an ironmonger. In 1839 he was apprenticed to an engraving firm in Manchester. He also trained at the Manchester School of Design. In 1846 he moved to London, eventually settling in Kensington. He became best-known for his engravings after the paintings of his friend John Phillip, including ‘Doña Pepita’ (c.1858) and ‘La gloria’ (c.1877). When Phillip died in 1867, Barlow acted as executor. Barlow also engraved the works of John Everett Millais (twice serving as his model) and J. M. W. Turner. He exhibited his engravings at the Society of British Artists and the Royal Academy. In 1881 he was elected a Royal Academician. He died in Kensington on Christmas Eve, 1889, aged 75.

People

William Ewart Gladstone (1809 - 1898)

Places

Subjects

male portrait, 19th century costume, frock coat, wing collar, Prime Minister

Materials & Techniques

mezzotint

Artist

Sir John Everett Millais (1829 - 1896)
Thomas Oldham Barlow (1824 - 1889)

Title

William Ewart Gladstone (1809-98) Prime Minister

Date

20 May 1881

Medium

Mezzotint

Acquisition

Purchased from Agnew's, February 1959

GAC number

4853