Frederic Leighton, Baron Leighton; George Du Maurier; William Powell Frith
3 of 5 portraits by George Du Maurier
Frederic Leighton, Baron Leighton; George Du Maurier; William Powell Frith
by George Du Maurier
pen and ink on paper, 3 April 1881
6 1/8 in. x 3 7/8 in. (155 mm x 100 mm) paper size
Given by Donato Esposito, 2016
Reference Collection
NPG D45755
Sittersback to top
- George Louis Palmella Busson Du Maurier (1834-1896), Illustrator, cartoonist and novelist. Sitter in 18 portraits, Artist or producer associated with 5 portraits. Identify
- Frederic Leighton, Baron Leighton (1830-1896), Painter; President of the Royal Academy; ex-officio Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery. Sitter in 59 portraits, Artist or producer associated with 8 portraits. Identify
- William Powell Frith (1819-1909), Painter. Sitter in 25 portraits, Artist or producer associated with 5 portraits. Identify
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. Identify
This portraitback to top
The self-portrait drawing on this letter shows the tall figure of George Du Maurier patting the heads of the diminutive figures of Frederic Leighton, President of the Royal Academy, and William Powell Frith.
Du Maurier's letter reveals that he had been unable to meet Leighton and Frith to give them 'the benefit of my counsel and advice' as he had spent the day in working out a joke on the census for the magazine 'Punch'. The letter was written on 3 April - the date of the 1881 census - and Du Maurier's cartoon on the subject was published in 'Punch' two weeks later on 16 April.
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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