Edward Carpenter
(1844-1929), Writer on social subjectsSitter in 9 portraits
Writer and advocate of libertarian beliefs; after a brief career at Cambridge, worked as a University Extension lecturer in northern England; settled at Millthorpe, Derbyshire, 1883, where he combined his literary work with a simple life of gardening and sandal-making. Influenced by Walt Whitman and Socialism, his works include Towards Democracy, 1883-1902, England's Ideal, 1885, and Civilisation, its Cause and Cure, 1889. From 1893, he lived openly with his working class lover, George Merrill. This rejection of conventional notions of social and sexual behaviour had a profound impact on such younger followers as E.M. Forster. His book Homogenic Love (1895) advocated the acceptance of relationships between men.
by Fred ('F') Holland Day
black and white photogravure, 1900
NPG Ax45350
by Alfred Mattison, copied by Emery Walker Ltd
copy glass plate negative, 1905
NPG x87106
by Alfred Mattison, copied by Emery Walker Ltd
modern print from a copy glass plate negative, 1905; printed 2018
NPG x87106MP
by Alvin Langdon Coburn
photogravure, 28 November 1905
NPG Ax7774
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