Sir John Aird, 1st Bt
1 of 5 portraits of Sir John Aird, 1st Bt
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Sir John Aird, 1st Bt
by Sir Leslie Ward
watercolour, published in Vanity Fair 20 June 1891
14 in. x 9 in. (356 mm x 229 mm)
Purchased, 1974
Primary Collection
NPG 5014
Sitterback to top
- Sir John Aird, 1st Bt (1833-1911), Civil engineering contractor. Sitter in 5 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Sir Leslie Ward (1851-1922), 'Spy'; caricaturist and portrait painter; son of Edward Matthew Ward. Artist or producer associated with 1617 portraits, Sitter in 9 portraits.
Linked publicationsback to top
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 6
Events of 1891back to top
Current affairs
The Irish Nationalist leader Charles Parnell is forced to resign after being named in the divorce proceedings brought by William O'Shea against his wife Kitty, who had been Parnell's mistress for a decade. The scandal severely damages the campaign for the Home Rule Bill, contributing greatly to its subsequent failure. Parnell's health also suffered; he contracted rheumatic fever and died a few months after resigning.Art and science
Thomas Hardy's publishes Tess of the D'Urbervilles, a tragedy which explores the consequences of the young Tess's seduction by the wealthy Alec D'Urberville. In the novel, Hardy sets forward his major concerns about the individual's powerlessness before fate, whilst radically critiquing the hypocritical double standards of contemporary morals.International
The construction of Trans-Siberian railway, the longest single rail system in Russia, begins in the Urals and at Vladivostock. Running between Moscow and Vladivostock, work was completed in 1917.The German aviation pioneer Otto Lilenthal takes off in the first glider from a hill near Potsdam, the first of many guided flights and an important step in the development of aerial technology.
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.
Related pages
- Conquering England
- Men of the day: Caricatures from Vanity Fair
- Punch's artists
- Handlist of names in the Reference Collection - M-Z
- Only Connect
- Only Connect - installation video
- Votes for women
- Rebel women
- Daily highlights tours
- LGBTQ+ History Month highlights tour
- LGBTQ+ highlights tour
- Trailblazers Black history tour