Sir Alfred Edward East

© E.H. Glaisyer / National Portrait Gallery, London

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Sir Alfred Edward East

by Sir Frank Brangwyn
oil on canvas, circa 1900
40 1/4 in. x 50 1/2 in. (1022 mm x 1283 mm)
Purchased, 1970
Primary Collection
NPG 4826

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  • Sir Frank Brangwyn (1867-1956), Painter. Artist or producer of 1 portrait, Sitter in 23 portraits.

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This portrait resulted from East's close friendship with Frank Brangwyn. A champion of his work, East purchased Brangwyn's painting 'The Cider Press' in 1902 and they travelled together to Cornwall, Sicily and Spain. Brangwyn used his characteristically colourful and bold decorative style to evoke East's heightened sensitivity to nature and the proud manliness that informed his thinking. Believed to have been painted in the garden of East's house in St Ives in the early 1900s, Brangwyn alludes to East's own paintings of rural celebrations by the inclusion of sketchy carnival figures in the distance.

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Events of 1900back to top

Current affairs

The Conservatives return to power, after the Prime Minister Lord Salisbury calls a general election, known as the 'Khaki election', on the back of huge jingoistic support for the Boer War.
The Labour Representation Committee (LRC) is founded from a coalition of socialist groups; they win two seats in the 1900 election and Ramsay Macdonald is appointed secretary. The Labour politician Keir Hardie is also returned to Parliament for Merthyr Tydfilin Wales.

Art and science

German physicist Max Planck proposes the concept of the quantum theory. Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams is published. In the text, Freud outlines his theory of dream analysis, crucial to the study of the unconscious, and introduces key concepts in psychoanalysis, such as the Ego.
The Paris International Exhibition, attended by more than 50 million people and including over 76,000 exhibitors, marks the heyday of Art Nouveau.

International

In China the Boxer rebellion takes place. The Boxers were anti-imperialist and against foreign influence in trade, religion, politics and technology in the final years of the Manchu rule. The Boxers invade Beijing, killing 230 foreigners and Chinese Christians. The rebellion is suppressed by a multinational coalition of 20,000 troops, with China being forced to pay large war reparations, contributing to growing nationalist resentment against the Qing dynasty.

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