Sir George Scharf
(1820-1895), Artist and art historian; first Director and later trustee of the National Portrait GalleryLater Victorian Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter in 79 portraits
Artist associated with 588 portraits
Artist and art historian; appointed first Secretary of the National Portrait Gallery in 1857 and Director in 1882. Scharf studied art under his father, the draughtsman and lithographer George Scharf, before entering the Royal Academy Schools in 1838. In the 1840s Scharf was twice commissioned as a draughtsman to travel to Asia Minor and, in the late 1840s and early 1850s, established himself as a leading book illustrator. Scharf devoted nearly 40 years to researching and identifying authentic portraits of significant historical figures and became an authority on portraiture.
More on Scharf: Sir George Scharf sketchbooks
by William Edward Kilburn
daguerreotype, circa 1847
NPG P859
by Sir George Scharf
pen and ink, 1869
NPG 5344
by A.S. Langdon
chalk, 1870
NPG 4583
by Sir George Scharf
watercolour, late 1880s?
NPG 4053(4)
by Sir George Scharf
pencil and watercolour, late 1870s?
NPG 4053(5)
by Sir George Scharf
pencil and watercolour, 1872
NPG 3863
by Sir George Scharf
watercolour, 1872
NPG 3864
by Sir George Scharf
watercolour, 1872
NPG 3865
by Sir George Scharf
pencil, 1872
NPG 4053(6)
by Walter William Ouless
oil on canvas, 1885
NPG 985
by Sir George Scharf
pencil, 1887
NPG 4053(1)
by Sir George Scharf
pencil, 1887
NPG 4053(2)
by Sir George Scharf
pencil, 1887
NPG 4053(3)
Private View of the Old Masters Exhibition, Royal Academy, 1888
by Henry Jamyn Brooks
oil on canvas, 1889
NPG 1833
by William Henry Southwell
albumen carte-de-visite, September 1860
NPG Ax29972
by William Henry Southwell
albumen carte-de-visite, September 1860
NPG Ax29973
by William Henry Southwell
albumen carte-de-visite, September 1860
NPG Ax29974
by William Henry Southwell
albumen carte-de-visite, September 1860
NPG Ax29975
by Maull & Polyblank
albumen carte-de-visite, 31 August 1861
NPG Ax30346
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Related pages
- Handlist of names in the Reference Collection - M-Z
- 150 Years: The National Portrait Gallery
- The Beautiful and the Damned
- Gallery history
- Photographic holdings: Albums 76-162
- Later Victorian Portraits Catalogue
- Sir George Scharf
- Daguerreotype
- Explore the portraits and room in the Private View of the Old Masters Exhibition at the Royal Academy