Charlotte Despard (née French)
(1844-1939), Suffragette and social workerSitter in 9 portraits
Charlotte Despard was a suffragette and social worker who was drawn to the women’s movement through her philanthropic work with vulnerable women and children. Working in the slums of Battersea, London, she founded clinics, social clubs and a soup kitchen. Despard was originally allied to the Pankhursts' Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), but soon became the leader of a breakaway organisation, the Women’s Freedom League. Their tactics were non-violent but spectacular, including the incident in the Ladies’ Gallery of the House of Commons, where several women chained themselves to the viewing grille. Despard was imprisoned twice for protesting and tax resistance.
Charlotte Despard (née French)
attributed to Charles Mendelssohn Horsfall
oil on canvas
NPG 4345
Charlotte Despard (née French)
by Mary Edis, Lady Bennett
oil on canvas, exhibited 1916
NPG 5007
for Daily Mirror
bromide press print, 1906
NPG x139878
Charlotte Despard (née French)
by Christina Broom
cream-toned velox print, 1908-1910
NPG x13391
Charlotte Despard (née French) and Anne Cobden-Sanderson with a policeman
by Unknown photographer
vintage print, 19 August 1909
NPG x27490
Charlotte Despard (née French); Anne Cobden-Sanderson with three unknown men
by Unknown photographer
halftone postcard print, 19 August 1909
On display in Room 24 on Floor 2 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG x45197
Charlotte Despard (née French)
by Lena Connell (later Beatrice Cundy)
postcard print, 1910s
NPG x196984
Charlotte Despard (née French)
by Lena Connell (later Beatrice Cundy)
sepia postcard print, 1910s
NPG x45190
Group including Sylvia Pankhurst and Charlotte Despard (née French)
by Unknown photographer
vintage print, circa 1916
NPG x35726
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