Edward Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton
2 of 19 portraits of Edward Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Edward Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton
by George Frederic Watts
oil on canvas, 1884
25 1/2 in. x 20 1/2 in. (648 mm x 521 mm)
Given by George Frederic Watts, 1895
Primary Collection
NPG 1007
Sitterback to top
- Edward Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton (1831-1891), 'Owen Meredith'; poet; viceroy of India. Sitter in 19 portraits.
Artistback to top
- George Frederic Watts (1817-1904), Painter and sculptor; Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery. Artist or producer associated with 93 portraits, Sitter in 43 portraits.
Related worksback to top
- NPG D38054: Edward Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton (source portrait)
Linked publicationsback to top
- Smartify image discovery app
- Bayly, Christopher, The Raj: India and the British 1600-1947, 1990 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 19 October 1990 - 17 March 1991), p. 333
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 396
Events of 1884back to top
Current affairs
The Third Reform Act further reduces the financial threshold for voters, extending the franchise to all householders in the counties, achieving uniformity with those in the boroughs, and effectively doubling the electorate from 2.5 million to just under 5 million.Foundation of the socialist group, the Fabian Society. The group quickly grows in size, including members Eleanor Marx, George Bernard Shaw and Beatrice Webb.
Art and science
Under the editorship of James Murray, the Oxford English Dictionary begins publication, with the tenth and final volume appearing 1928. The idea for a historical dictionary of the English language had been conceived by members of the Philological Society in 1857, including Frederick Furnivall, and some 800 voluntary readers contributed to the immense project.International
Germany annexes Southwest Africa, Togoland, the Cameroons, and Tanganyike, and launches the scramble for Africa as it becomes the third largest colonial power in the continent. Bismarck also invites the European powers to a West Africa conference in Berlin, which, carving up the map of Africa between them, regulates colonial practice, frees trade and prohibits slavery, formally marking the start of the New Imperialism which would flourish until World War I.Comments back to top
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