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Sir William Agnew, 1st Bt

(1825-1910), Art dealer

Later Victorian Portraits Catalogue Entry

Sitter in 4 portraits
William Agnew was the son of Thomas Agnew, a Manchester-based art dealer. He established the family firm as a leading international art dealership, trading as Thos. Agnew & Sons. He was also a Liberal Member of Parliament from 1880-86. Agnew promoted many leading painters and dominated the art market for around thirty years. Ambitious, and with brilliant business acumen, he possessed great personal charm that endeared him to those he dealt with. He helped form some of the great private art collections of the age, including those of Henry Tate and Lord Iveagh. On being created baronet in 1895, he was described as 'the greatest art publisher and dealer in England'.

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Sir William Agnew, 1st Bt, by Harry Furniss - NPG 3413

Sir William Agnew, 1st Bt

by Harry Furniss
pen and ink, 1880s
NPG 3413

Sir William Agnew, 1st Bt, by Frank Holl - NPG 6991

Sir William Agnew, 1st Bt

by Frank Holl
oil on canvas, 1883
NPG 6991

Private View of the Old Masters Exhibition, Royal Academy, 1888, by Henry Jamyn Brooks - NPG 1833

Private View of the Old Masters Exhibition, Royal Academy, 1888

by Henry Jamyn Brooks
oil on canvas, 1889
NPG 1833

Key to Private View of the Old Masters Exhibition, Royal Academy, 1888, after Henry Jamyn Brooks - NPG D42236

Key to Private View of the Old Masters Exhibition, Royal Academy, 1888

after Henry Jamyn Brooks
photograph, 1919 or after
NPG D42236

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