William Ewart Gladstone
(1809-1898), Prime Minister and writer; Trustee of the National Portrait GalleryEarly Victorian Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter associated with 324 portraits
Famous as the ‘grand old man’ of British politics; Gladstone was leader of the Liberal Party and prime minister in four governments from 1868 to 1894. Gladstone was responsible for major reforms in every sphere of national life, and for the development of imperial foreign policy. He divided the party on the issue of Irish Home Rule and stamped his moral authority on the politics of his time. Gladstone’s father, John Gladstone was one of the largest owners of enslaved Africans in the Caribbean and this wealth supported Gladstone’s early career in politics. As a politician, Gladstone supported the proposal to compensate slave-owners for the loss of their ‘property’ after slavery was abolished and the introduction of the apprenticeship system that required newly freed Africans to continue working for their masters for four to six years.
by Heinrich Müller
chalk, 1839
NPG 4034
by Sir John Gilbert
pencil, pen and ink and wash, 1855
NPG 1125
Engraving after 'The Coalition Ministry, 1854'
by William Walker, after Sir John Gilbert
engraving, 1857
NPG 1125a
Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux; William Ewart Gladstone
by Unknown photographer
albumen print, late 1850s
NPG P481
by George Frederic Watts
oil on panel, 1859
NPG 1126
by Lowes Cato Dickinson
oil on canvas, 1869-1874
NPG 5116
by Carlo Pellegrini
watercolour, published in Vanity Fair 6 February 1869
NPG 1978
by Sydney Prior Hall
pencil, 1875-1900
NPG 2309
by Sydney Prior Hall
pencil, 1875-1900
NPG 2310
by Sydney Prior Hall
pencil
NPG 2312
William Ewart Gladstone; Timothy Michael Healy
by Sydney Prior Hall
pencil
NPG 2319
by Sydney Prior Hall
pencil
NPG 2323
by Sydney Prior Hall
pencil
NPG 2325
by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3359
by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3360
by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3361
by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3363
by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3365
by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3575
by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3366
by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3368
by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3373
by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3377
by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3381
by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3382
by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3383
by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3384
by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3385
by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3386
by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3387
by Thomas Woolner
bronze bust, 1882
NPG 2167
by Alfred Edward Emslie
oil on canvas, 1884
NPG 3845
The Lobby of the House of Commons, 1886
by Liborio Prosperi ('Lib')
oil on canvas, published in Vanity Fair Christmas Supplement 1886
NPG 5256
by Sir Leslie Ward
watercolour, published in Vanity Fair 5 November 1887
NPG 5057
by Sydney Prior Hall
pencil, 1887
NPG 2308
Private View of the Old Masters Exhibition, Royal Academy, 1888
by Henry Jamyn Brooks
oil on canvas, 1889
NPG 1833
by Alfred Edward Emslie
oil on canvas, 1890
NPG 3898
by Sydney Prior Hall
pencil, 1890
NPG 2311
Related People
- Mary Drew (née Gladstone) (daughter)
- Herbert John Gladstone, 1st Viscount Gladstone (son)
- Henry Neville Gladstone, 1st Baron Gladstone of Hawarden (son)
- Catherine Gladstone (née Glynne) (wife)
- Constance Gertrude Gladstone (granddaughter)
- Evelyn Catherine Gladstone (granddaughter)
- Helen Gladstone (daughter)
- Sir John Gladstone (father)
- Robertson Gladstone (brother)
- Stephen Deiniol Gladstone (grandson)
- Stephen Edward Gladstone (son)
- Sir Thomas Gladstone, 2nd Bt (brother)
- William Glynne Charles Gladstone (grandson)
- William Henry Gladstone (son)
- Dorothy Mary Catherine ('Dossie') Parish (née Drew) (granddaughter)
- Agnes Wickham (née Gladstone) (daughter)
- Lucy C. Wickham (granddaughter)
- Margaret Wickham (granddaughter)
- William G. Wickham (grandson)
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