Sir Edward Elgar, Bt

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Sir Edward Elgar, Bt

by William Rothenstein
chalk, circa 1919
14 7/8 in. x 11 in. (378 mm x 280 mm)
Given by the artist's son, Sir John Knewstub Maurice Rothenstein, 1984
Primary Collection
NPG 5707

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • Sir William Rothenstein (1872-1945), Artist and teacher of art. Artist or producer associated with 222 portraits, Sitter in 24 portraits.

This portraitback to top

William Rothenstein’s depiction of Elgar as an Edwardian gentleman endorses the post-war view of Elgar’s work as increasingly outmoded, as younger composers became more experimental.

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Events of 1919back to top

Current affairs

Sir John William Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown pilot the first successful non-stop transatlantic flight from Newfoundland to Ireland, flying 1980 miles in their modified Vickers Vimy bomber plane in just over 16 hours. Their achievement won them a £10,000 prize from the Daily Mail newspaper.

Art and science

John Maynard Keynes publishes The Economic Consequences of the Peace, an influential economic text that criticised the harsh economic treatment of Germany at the Treaty of Versailles and predicted the destabilising effects of the vindictive settlement.

International

The Paris Peace Conference negotiates the peace treaties between the victorious and defeated powers. The Conference culminated in a number of treaties including the Treaty of Versailles, which granted independence for the countries under Austrian and Russian rule and forced Germany to accept responsibility for the war and pay reparations. It also established the League of Nations.

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