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Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (1848-1930), Prime Minister and philosopher

Sitter in 113 portraits
Balfour first made his mark as a philosopher, publishing A Defence of Philosophic Doubt in 1879. He entered politics in 1874 through the patronage of his uncle, Lord Salisbury. He succeeded Salisbury as prime minister in 1902 but was unable to keep together a party divided by issues of Free Trade and Protectionism. He resigned in December 1905. During the First World War, he worked as First Lord of the Admiralty and, from 1916 to 1919, as Foreign Secretary. The Balfour Declaration of November 1917 gave British support to 'the establishment in Palestine of a home for the Jewish people'. Balfour continued in politics until the age of eighty: he had served for twenty-seven years as a member of the cabinet.

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4987

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour

by George Richmond
chalk, 1877
NPG 4987

3337

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour

by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3337

3338

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour

by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3338

P144

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour

by Eveleen Myers (née Tennant)
platinum print, circa 1890
NPG P144

2949

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour

by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
oil on canvas, exhibited 1891
On display in the Dining Room at Bodelwyddan Castle
NPG 2949

5114

Joe Chamberlain; Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour

by Sydney Prior Hall
oil on canvas, circa 1895
NPG 5114

2497

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour

by Philip Alexius de László
oil on canvas
NPG 2497

2864

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour; Michael Edward Hicks Beach, 1st Earl St Aldwyn; Joe Chamberlain

by Sir Francis Carruthers Gould ('F.C.G.')
pen and ink, 1900s?
NPG 2864

2864a

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour

by Sir Francis Carruthers Gould ('F.C.G.')
pen and ink, circa 1900-1908
NPG 2864a

2866

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour; Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman

by Sir Francis Carruthers Gould ('F.C.G.')
pen and ink, 1900s
NPG 2866

2331

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour

by Sydney Prior Hall
pencil, 1903
NPG 2331

6620

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour

by John Singer Sargent
oil on canvas, 1908
On display in Room 25 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG 6620

2463

Statesmen of World War I

by Sir James Guthrie
oil on canvas, 1924-1930
On display in Room 30 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG 2463

x22246

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour

by London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company
albumen cabinet card, 1870s-1900s
NPG x22246

x5159

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour

by James Russell & Sons
carbon print, 1887
NPG x5159

x134495

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour

by Lafayette (Lafayette Ltd)
albumen cabinet card, circa 1888
NPG x134495

x12549

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour

by Elliott & Fry
albumen cabinet card, 1889
NPG x12549

x9487

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour

by Elliott & Fry
albumen print, 1889
NPG x9487

x127405

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour

by Elliott & Fry
chlorobromide print on cream card mount, 1889
NPG x127405

x82454

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour

by Elliott & Fry
half-plate glass copy negative, 1889
NPG x82454

Category
Politics, Government and Diplomacy
Scholarship and Research
Groups
British Prime Ministers
The Souls
Place
East Lothian