General Officers of World War I
- Overview
- Extended Catalogue Entry
General Officers of World War I
by John Singer Sargent
oil on canvas, 1922
118 in. x 208 in. (2997 mm x 5283 mm) overall
Given by Sir Abraham ('Abe') Bailey, 1st Bt, 1922
Primary Collection
NPG 1954
On display in Room 25 on Floor 2 at the National Portrait Gallery
Artistback to top
- John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), Portrait and landscape painter and muralist. Artist or producer associated with 72 portraits, Sitter in 5 portraits.
Sittersback to top
- Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby (1861-1936), Field Marshal. Sitter in 38 portraits. Identify
- William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood (1865-1951), Field Marshal. Sitter in 21 portraits. Identify
- Louis Botha (1862-1919), General and South African statesman. Sitter in 9 portraits. Identify
- Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy (1862-1935), Field Marshal. Sitter in 15 portraits. Identify
- (Frederic) Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan (1865-1946), Army commander. Sitter in 22 portraits. Identify
- Sir John Steven Cowans (1862-1921), Quartermaster-General to the Forces. Sitter in 7 portraits. Identify
- Sir Arthur William Currie (1875-1933), General. Sitter in 1 portrait. Identify
- Sir Charles Macpherson Dobell (1869-1954), General. Sitter in 10 portraits. Identify
- Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (1861-1928), Field Marshal. Sitter in 64 portraits. Identify
- Henry Sinclair Horne, Baron Horne (1861-1929), General. Sitter in 15 portraits. Identify
- Sir Henry Timson Lukin (1860-1925), Major-General. Sitter in 4 portraits. Identify
- Sir William Marshall (1865-1939), Lieutenant-General. Sitter in 5 portraits. Identify
- Sir Frederick Stanley Maude (1864-1917), Lieutenant-General. Sitter in 4 portraits. Identify
- George Francis Milne, 1st Baron Milne (1866-1948), Field Marshal. Sitter in 12 portraits. Identify
- Sir John Monash (1865-1931), General; Civil Engineer. Sitter in 7 portraits. Identify
- Herbert Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer (1857-1932), Field Marshal. Sitter in 21 portraits. Identify
- Henry Seymour Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson of Trent (1864-1925), General and Commander-in-Chief of Army in India. Sitter in 19 portraits. Identify
- Sir William Robert Robertson, 1st Bt (1860-1933), Field Marshal. Sitter in 16 portraits. Identify
- Sir Andrew Hamilton Russell (1868-1960), Major-General. Sitter in 1 portrait. Identify
- Jan Christian Smuts (1870-1950), Prime Minister of South Africa, Field Marshal and writer on evolution. Sitter in 41 portraits. Identify
- Sir Henry Hughes Wilson, 1st Bt (1864-1922), Field-Marshal and Irish Unionist politician. Sitter in 17 portraits. Identify
- John Denton Pinkstone French, 1st Earl of Ypres (1852-1925), Field Marshal. Sitter in 24 portraits. Identify
This portraitback to top
Soon after the First World War, the director of the National Portrait Gallery received an unprecedented offer from the South African financier Sir Abraham Bailey, who wished to finance three new commissions for the gallery. Bailey's scheme for large-scale group portraits of Military and Naval heroes, and great Statesmen, was motivated by the wish to 'perpetuate in a manner worthy of commemoration, the features of those distinguished contemporaries who have upheld the Empire during the Great War'. The offer was enthusiastically received by the Director and Trustees, and the 'ten -year rule', whereby portraits must depict sitters at least ten-years deceased, was waived. Sitters were chosen on the basis that the portraits were to be 'non-political' and would represent all parts of the British Empire, including India and South Africa. Gallery Trustees considered numerous artists, including William Orpen, Augustus John and William Nicholson, before choosing Sir James Guthrie, John Singer Sargent, and Sir Arthur Stockdale Cope, who were each paid £5000.
Related worksback to top
- NPG 2908(10): Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby (study)
- NPG 2908(12): Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby (study)
- NPG 4186: William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood (study)
- NPG 2908(1): William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood (study)
- NPG 2908(8): Louis Botha (study)
- NPG 2908(3): (Frederic) Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan (study)
- NPG 2908(9): (Frederic) Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan (study)
- NPG 2908(6): Sir Charles Macpherson Dobell (study)
- NPG 2908(7): Sir Charles Macpherson Dobell (study)
- NPG 2908(17): Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (study)
- NPG 2908(4): Henry Sinclair Horne, Baron Horne (study)
- NPG 2908(2): Henry Seymour Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson of Trent (study)
- NPG 2908(14): Henry Seymour Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson of Trent (study)
- NPG 2908(15): Henry Seymour Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson of Trent (study)
- NPG 4181: Henry Seymour Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson of Trent (study)
- NPG 4187: Jan Christian Smuts (study)
- NPG 2908(13): Sir Henry Hughes Wilson, 1st Bt (study)
- NPG 2889: Sir Henry Hughes Wilson, 1st Bt (study)
- NPG 2654: John Denton Pinkstone French, 1st Earl of Ypres (study)
- NPG 2908(11): John Denton Pinkstone French, 1st Earl of Ypres (study)
- NPG 2908(5): Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy (study)
Linked publicationsback to top
- I-Spy National Portrait Gallery, 2010, p. 46
- Smartify image discovery app
- Redford, Bruce, John Singer Sargent and the art of allusion, 2016, p. 48
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 715
Subjects & Themesback to top
Events of 1922back to top
Current affairs
The British Broadcasting Company (later British Broadcasting Corporation) is established to experiment with radio broadcasting. It is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, providing radio, television and Internet services to the public in Britain and across the world.Art and science
1922 is a key year for modernist literature with the publication of James Joyce's novel, Ulysses and T.S. Eliot's poem, The Waste Land. Both broke new ground with Ulysses (loosely based on Homer's Odyssey) introducing the 'stream of consciousness' narrative technique, and The Waste Land experimenting with multiple voices and a patchwork of literary, historic, mythological and personal allusions.International
The Soviet Union is formed under Joseph Stalin who takes power after Lenin suffers a debilitating stroke.In an attempt to avoid civil war, King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy invites Benito Mussolini to form a new government following the Fascist Party's March on Rome.
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