Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
(1848-1930), Prime Minister and philosopher20th Century Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter in 140 portraits
Born at Whittingehame House, East Lothian and educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge; Balfour first made his mark as a philosopher, publishing A Defence of Philosophic Doubt in 1879; he entered politics in 1874 through the patronage of his uncle, Lord Salisbury, as a Conservative member for Hertford; succeeded Salisbury as Prime Minister in 1902 but was unable to keep together a party divided by issues of Free Trade and Protectionism and resigned in 1905; during the First World War he worked as First Lord of the Admiralty and, from 1916 to 1919, as Foreign Secretary; Balfour continued in politics until the age of eighty, having served for twenty-seven years as a member of the cabinet.
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Lafayette
albumen cabinet card, circa 1888
NPG x134495
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Elliott & Fry
albumen cabinet card, 1889
NPG x12549
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Elliott & Fry
albumen print, 1889
NPG x9487
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Alfred Werner & Son
albumen cabinet card, 1889
NPG x197245
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Elliott & Fry
chlorobromide print on cream card mount, 1889
NPG x127405
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Elliott & Fry
half-plate glass copy negative, 1889
NPG x82454
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Lafayette, published by J. Beagles & Co
bromide postcard print, 1900s (1890s)
NPG x197716
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by W. & D. Downey, published by Cassell & Company, Ltd
carbon print, published 1894
NPG Ax27926
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by W. & D. Downey
carbon print, published 1894
NPG x179
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company
carbon print, before 1895
NPG x374
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company, published by Charles Newman & Co
carbon print, published before 1895
NPG Ax15877
by Lafayette, photogravure by Walker & Boutall
photogravure, 1897; published 1899
NPG Ax41284
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Benjamin Stone
platinum print, 1897
NPG x8283
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Benjamin Stone
platinum print, November 1899
NPG x8284
by Benjamin Stone
platinum print, July 1899
NPG x32628
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Elliott & Fry, published by J. Beagles & Co
bromide postcard print, 1900s
NPG x197714
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Alexander Bassano
half-plate glass negative, 1900?
NPG x96263
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company
albumen cabinet card, August 1902
NPG x177
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by George Charles Beresford
platinum print, 1902
NPG x8451
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
by Bassano Ltd, published by Davidson Brothers
bromide postcard print, circa 1902
NPG x193620
Related People
- Gerald William Balfour, 2nd Earl of Balfour (brother)
- Eustace James Balfour (brother)
- Lady Evelyn ('Eve') Barbara Balfour (niece)
- Eleanor ('Nora') Mildred Sidgwick (née Balfour) (sister)
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