Cecil John Rhodes
(1853-1902), Imperialist, statesman in South Africa and mining entrepreneurSitter in 26 portraits
At the age of seventeen, Rhodes joined his elder brother in South Africa to grow cotton in Natal before joining the rush to the recently discovered diamond fields in Kimberley. This is where he made his fortune, buying up smaller holders of diamond mines and his company, De Beers, became the world’s largest and most profitable diamond firm. As Prime Minister of Cape Colony (1890-96) his government restricted the rights of black Africans by changing the laws on voting and land ownership. A precursor to apartheid in South Africa. In 1877 he wrote Confessions of Faith, in which he promoted the expansion of the British Empire and advocated the supremacy of the British race. He was a controversial figure in Britain at the height of his influence and his most notorious moment was backing the Jamieson Raid of 1895 in which a small British force tried to overthrow Paul Kruger, the Afrikaner President of gold-rich Transvaal Republic. The raid prompted the Second Boer War (1899-1902) in which tens of thousands died. In his will, he created the Rhodes Scholarship enabling students to study at Oxford University. Recipients of the scholarship have included President Bill Clinton and Professor Stuart Hall.
by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s-1900s
NPG 3404
by Elliott & Fry
albumen print, circa 1894
NPG P1700(19c)
by Sir Francis Carruthers Gould ('F.C.G.')
pen and ink, circa 1896
NPG 2853
by Sir Francis Carruthers Gould ('F.C.G.')
pen and ink, circa 1896
NPG 2854
by George Frederic Watts
oil on canvas, 1898
NPG 1407
Encaenia at the University of Oxford
by Unknown photographer
printing-out paper print, 21 June 1899
NPG P1700(43)
by Sydney March
bronze bust, 1901
NPG 4151
by John Tweed
plaster cast of death-mask, after 1902
NPG 1730
by Henry Alfred Pegram
plaster cast of bust, after 1902
NPG 2545
by James Russell & Sons
albumen cabinet card, circa 1880s
NPG x12453
by James Russell & Sons
albumen cabinet card, circa 1880s
NPG x46639
by James Russell & Sons, published by Ogden's
cigarette card, circa 1880s, published circa 1894-1907
NPG x136657
by Alexander Bassano
printing-out paper cabinet card, circa 1890
NPG x29184
by Alexander Bassano
half-plate glass negative, circa 1890
NPG x96622
by Alexander Bassano
half-plate glass negative, circa 1890
NPG x96623
by Elliott & Fry
chlorobromide print on cream card mount, 1897
NPG x127477
by Elliott & Fry
half-plate negative, 1897
NPG x82150
by E.H. Mills, published by Raphael Tuck & Sons
bromide postcard print, circa 1901; published circa 1902
NPG x197841
Cecil John Rhodes ('Men of the Day. No. 503.')
by Sir Leslie Ward
chromolithograph, published in Vanity Fair 28 March 1891
NPG D44535
by Harold Wright ('Stuff')
chromolithograph, published in Vanity Fair 25 November 1897
NPG D44883
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