Francis Thompson
(1859-1907), PoetSitter in 4 portraits
Thompson began keeping notebooks of poetry and prose while at school. His mother died when he was twenty, and it is thought that he became addicted to opium that was prescribed for her. In 1884 he sent some of his poems to the literary journal Merry England. The poems were mislaid before they were published; in the interval Thompson had moved to London and ended up living on the streets. Wilfrid Meynell, the editor of Merry England, found and brought him into his own home, and published the first volume of his poems. Thompson subsequently lived as an invalid; a lifetime of extreme poverty, ill health, and opium addiction unbalanced him, even though he found success in his last years.
by Everard Meynell
plaster cast of life-mask
NPG 5271
Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.