Thomas Carlyle
(1795-1881), Historian and essayist; Trustee of the National Portrait GalleryEarly Victorian Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter associated with 94 portraits
In his 1841 book, 'On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in Society', Carlyle claimed 'the history of the world is but the biography of great men.' He believed history was made by great individuals and advocated for the foundation of the National Portrait Gallery. Born in Scotland, Carlyle was influenced by German Romanticism and enjoyed lecturing and writing on German literature, promoting Schiller and Goethe to a British public. In 1834 he moved to London and began writing a history of the French Revolution. A respected historian, his ideas were influential at the time, however during the revolutionary decade of the 1840s he expressed controversial views that were met with widespread disapproval. In 1849 he published a racist essay called 'Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question' voicing his opposition to human rights. When he supported the repressive measures used in Jamaica to suppress the Morant Bay Rebellion, his liberal friends deserted him.
by Edward Matthew Ward
pen and ink
NPG 2894
by Robert Scott Tait
salt print, 1851
NPG P171(6)
by Robert Scott Tait
salt print, 1851
NPG P171(7)
by Thomas Woolner
plaster cast of medallion, 1855
NPG 1241
by Charles Bell Birch
pen and ink, 1859
NPG 2520
by Julia Margaret Cameron
albumen print, printed in reverse, 1867
NPG P123
by Sir George Scharf
pen and ink, 1874
NPG 2794
by Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm, 1st Bt
terracotta cast of bust, circa 1875
NPG 658
by Domenico Brucciani, after Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm, 1st Bt
plaster cast of hands, 1875
NPG 1623
by Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Bt
oil on canvas, 1877
NPG 968
by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3558
by Sir Alfred Gilbert
plaster cast of death-mask, 1881
NPG 1361
by Robert Scott Tait
albumen print, 1851
NPG x139794
by Robert Scott Tait
carbon print, 31 July 1854
NPG x34156
by Robert Scott Tait
salt print on cream card mount, 1855
NPG x5641
possibly by Charles Thurston Thompson
albumen print, circa 1859
NPG x1344
by Elliott & Fry
albumen carte-de-visite, 1860s
NPG Ax17815
by Elliott & Fry
albumen carte-de-visite, 1860s
NPG Ax18216
by Elliott & Fry
albumen carte-de-visite, 1860s
NPG Ax39829
by John & Charles Watkins
albumen carte-de-visite, 1860s
NPG Ax11945
by John & Charles Watkins
albumen print, 1860s
NPG Ax21887
by Elliott & Fry
albumen cabinet card, 1860s
NPG x5659
by Elliott & Fry
albumen carte-de-visite, 1860s-1870s
NPG x3695
by John & Charles Watkins
albumen carte-de-visite, 1860s-1870s
NPG x5648
by John & Charles Watkins
albumen carte-de-visite, circa 1861
NPG Ax5086
by William Jeffrey
albumen print, September 1862
NPG Ax7336
by William Jeffrey
albumen print, September 1862
NPG x5644
by William Jeffrey
albumen print, September 1862
NPG x5645
by William Jeffrey
albumen print, September 1862
NPG x5646
by William Jeffrey
albumen print, September 1862
NPG x5647
by William Jeffrey
albumen carte-de-visite, September 1862
NPG x5643
by Elliott & Fry
albumen carte-de-visite, circa 1865
NPG Ax28576
by Elliott & Fry
albumen cabinet card, 1865
NPG x129584
by Elliott & Fry
albumen print, circa 1865
NPG x5661
by John & Charles Watkins
albumen carte-de-visite, 1865-1870
NPG Ax7506
by Elliott & Fry
albumen print, circa 1865
NPG x5660
by John & Charles Watkins
albumen carte-de-visite, circa 1865
NPG x5649
by Elliott & Fry
albumen carte-de-visite, circa 1865
NPG x5656
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