Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
(1848-1930), Prime Minister and philosopher20th Century Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter in 140 portraits
Born at Whittingehame House, East Lothian and educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge; Balfour first made his mark as a philosopher, publishing A Defence of Philosophic Doubt in 1879; he entered politics in 1874 through the patronage of his uncle, Lord Salisbury, as a Conservative member for Hertford; succeeded Salisbury as Prime Minister in 1902 but was unable to keep together a party divided by issues of Free Trade and Protectionism and resigned in 1905; during the First World War he worked as First Lord of the Admiralty and, from 1916 to 1919, as Foreign Secretary; Balfour continued in politics until the age of eighty, having served for twenty-seven years as a member of the cabinet.
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by George Richmond
chalk, 1877
NPG 4987
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3337
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3338
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Eveleen Myers (née Tennant)
platinum print, circa 1890
NPG P144
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
oil on canvas, exhibited 1891
NPG 2949
Joe Chamberlain; Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Sydney Prior Hall
oil on canvas, circa 1895
NPG 5114
by Sir Francis Carruthers Gould ('F.C.G.')
pen and ink, 1900s?
NPG 2864
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Sir Francis Carruthers Gould ('F.C.G.')
pen and ink, circa 1900-1908
NPG 2864a
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour; Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
by Sir Francis Carruthers Gould ('F.C.G.')
pen and ink, 1900s
NPG 2866
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Sydney Prior Hall
pencil, 1903
NPG 2331
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Philip Alexius de László
oil on canvas, June 1908
NPG 2497
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by John Singer Sargent
oil on canvas, 1908
On display in Room 24 on Floor 2 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG 6620
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
published by Charles Bruce
collotype postcard print, 1900s (circa 1864)
NPG x197718
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company
albumen cabinet card, 1870s-1900s
NPG x22246
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by James Russell & Sons, published by Charles Newman & Co
carbon print, 1887; published before 1895
NPG Ax15876
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by James Russell & Sons
carbon print, 1887
NPG Ax15963
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by James Russell & Sons
carbon print, 1887
NPG x5159
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by James Russell & Sons, published by Ogden's
cigarette card, 1887, published circa 1895-1906
NPG x197000
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by James Russell & Sons, published by Rotary Photographic Co Ltd
bromide postcard print, early 1900s (1887)
NPG x197715
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Lafayette
albumen cabinet card, circa 1888
NPG x134495
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Elliott & Fry
albumen cabinet card, 1889
NPG x12549
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Elliott & Fry
albumen print, 1889
NPG x9487
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Alfred Werner & Son
albumen cabinet card, 1889
NPG x197245
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Elliott & Fry
chlorobromide print on cream card mount, 1889
NPG x127405
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Elliott & Fry
half-plate glass copy negative, 1889
NPG x82454
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Lafayette, published by J. Beagles & Co
bromide postcard print, 1900s (1890s)
NPG x197716
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by W. & D. Downey, published by Cassell & Company, Ltd
carbon print, published 1894
NPG Ax27926
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by W. & D. Downey
carbon print, published 1894
NPG x179
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company
carbon print, before 1895
NPG x374
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company, published by Charles Newman & Co
carbon print, published before 1895
NPG Ax15877
by Lafayette, photogravure by Walker & Boutall
photogravure, 1897; published 1899
NPG Ax41284
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Benjamin Stone
platinum print, 1897
NPG x8283
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Benjamin Stone
platinum print, November 1899
NPG x8284
by Benjamin Stone
platinum print, July 1899
NPG x32628
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Elliott & Fry, published by J. Beagles & Co
bromide postcard print, 1900s
NPG x197714
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Alexander Bassano
half-plate glass negative, 1900?
NPG x96263
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company
albumen cabinet card, August 1902
NPG x177
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by George Charles Beresford
platinum print, 1902
NPG x8451
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Bassano Ltd, published by Davidson Brothers
bromide postcard print, circa 1902
NPG x193620
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Bassano Ltd, published by Rotary Photographic Co Ltd
bromide postcard print, circa 1902
NPG x197713
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company
bromide postcard print, 1902
NPG x197717
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Lafayette, published by Raphael Tuck & Sons
postcard print, 1902
NPG x198168
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by H. Walter Barnett
vintage bromide print, 1903
NPG x45401
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by H. Walter Barnett
whole-plate glass negative, 1903
NPG x81437
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by H. Walter Barnett
whole-plate glass negative, 1903
NPG x81438
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by H. Walter Barnett
whole-plate glass negative, 1903
NPG x81439
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by H. Walter Barnett
whole-plate glass negative, 1903
NPG x81441
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by H. Walter Barnett
whole-plate glass negative, 1903
NPG x81442
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by H. Walter Barnett
whole-plate glass negative, 1903
NPG x81443
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by H. Walter Barnett
whole-plate glass negative, 1903
NPG x81444
'King Edward & His Empire Builders'
published by Rotary Photographic Co Ltd
postcard print, circa 1907
NPG x197883
'Luncheon party at the House of Commons'
by Sir John Alexander Cockburn
platinum print, 9 July 1907
NPG x89004
'Luncheon Party at the House of Commons'
by Benjamin Stone
platinum print, 17 July 1908
NPG x135013
'Visit of French Senators and Deputies and their Wives to the Houses of Parliament'
by Benjamin Stone
platinum print, 22 July 1908
NPG x135015
'Visit of French Senators and Deputies and their Wives to the Houses of Parliament'
by Benjamin Stone
platinum print, 22 July 1908
NPG x135016
'Visit of French Members of Parliament to the Houses of Parliament'
by Benjamin Stone
platinum print, 22 July 1908
NPG x135017
'Visit of French Members of Parliament to the Houses of Parliament'
by Benjamin Stone
platinum print, 22 July 1908
NPG x135018
'Luncheon Party at the House of Commons'
by Benjamin Stone
platinum print, 17 July 1908
NPG x135569
'Luncheon Party at the House of Commons'
probably by Roland Parker Stone, for Benjamin Stone
platinum print, 17 July 1908
NPG x135567
Related People
- Gerald William Balfour, 2nd Earl of Balfour (brother)
- Eustace James Balfour (brother)
- Lady Evelyn ('Eve') Barbara Balfour (niece)
- Eleanor ('Nora') Mildred Sidgwick (née Balfour) (sister)
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