Alfred Ainger
2 of 5 portraits by George Du Maurier
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Alfred Ainger
by George Du Maurier
watercolour, circa 1881
12 in. x 9 in. (305 mm x 229 mm)
Given by the artist's son, Sir Gerald Du Maurier, 1934
Primary Collection
NPG 2660
Artistback to top
- George Louis Palmella Busson Du Maurier (1834-1896), Illustrator, cartoonist and novelist. Artist or producer associated with 5 portraits, Sitter in 18 portraits.
This portraitback to top
Ainger and Du Maurier were close friends and near neighbours in Hampstead, becoming familiar figures on their regular walks together on the Heath. The portrait was executed in Du Maurier's Hampstead home, New Grove House.
Linked publicationsback to top
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 6
Placesback to top
- Place made and portrayed: United Kingdom: England, London (artist's home, New Grove House, Hampstead)
Events of 1881back to top
Current affairs
Benjamin Disraeli dies of bronchitis. He refuses a state funeral and is buried next to his wife, Mary Ann Viscountess Beaconsfield.Gladstone's Irish Land Act is passed in a bid to stop violence carried out by the republican Land League, conducted in protest at the 1870 Land Act.
Henry Mayers Hyndman forms the Marxist Democratic Federation.
Art and science
The Natural History Museum is opened on Exhibition Road, South Kensington. The museum, a landmark gothic design by the architect Alfred Waterhouse, was built to house specimens from the natural sciences, previously in the British Museum's collection. Today, the museum comprises of over 70 million items, and is a world-renowned research centre.International
Alexander II is assassinated in a bomb attack by members of a left-wing revolutionary movement. He was succeeded by his son, Tsar Alexander III.US President James Garfield is shot by Charles Guiteau.
The first Anglo-Boer war ends. The war is started by a Boer uprising, as the British had annexed the Transvaal in 1877. Following Britain's defeat at the Battle of Majuba Hill, a truce is signed giving the Boers self-government and later independence.
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