Sir Arthur Eddington
(1882-1944), AstronomerSitter in 31 portraits
The British astronomer, physicist and mathematician, Sir Arthur Eddington, was chief assistant at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich from 1906 until 1913. The loss of so many distinguished young scientists in the early years of the First World War caused the Government to 'protect its potential national treasures' and Eddington, a Quaker, was not conscripted. The Government's faith was fully justified by the important part Eddington played in the analysis of the Solar Eclipse in 1919. His findings helped to provide the proof of Einstein's Theories of Relativity and he did much to make theoretical physics comprehensible to the general public in a number of important books. His greatest contributions were in the field of astrophysics; the ‘Eddington limit’, the natural limit to the luminosity of stars, is named in his honour.
by William Rothenstein
chalk, 1928-1929
NPG 4646
by Walter Stoneman
bromide print, 1925
NPG x162468
by Walter Benington, for Elliott & Fry
half-plate glass copy negative, before 1926
NPG x82130
by Howard Coster
bromide print, 1936
NPG Ax136080
by Howard Coster
bromide print, 1936
NPG Ax136146
by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1936
NPG x11548
by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1936
NPG x11550
by Walter Stoneman
bromide print, July 1938
NPG x1437
by Bassano Ltd
half-plate film negative, 30 May 1939
NPG x19431
by Bassano Ltd
half-plate film negative, 30 May 1939
NPG x19432
by Bassano Ltd
half-plate film negative, 30 May 1939
NPG x19433
by Bassano Ltd
half-plate film negative, 30 May 1939
NPG x19434
by Bassano Ltd
bromide print, 30 May 1939
NPG x84153
by Bassano Ltd
bromide print, 30 May 1939
NPG x84154
Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.