Sir John Martin-Harvey
(1863-1944), Actor and theatre managerSitter in 32 portraits
Actor and theatre manager. A chance visit to a London theatre while he was apprenticed to his father's shipwright business persuaded Harvey to train as an actor. He joined Irving's Lyceum Theatre in 1882 and stayed for fourteen years. After a period as a freelance actor, he ventured into management in February 1899 with The Only Way, an adaptation of Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities that proved a phenomenal success, registering over 5000 performances over forty years and guaranteeing Harvey's financial security. Although costumed romance and melodrama were the bedrock of Harvey's repertoire, he also produced Shakespeare, a revolutionary production of Oedipus Rex, and contemporary plays by writers such as Maeterlinck.
Sir John Martin-Harvey and Hilda Moore in 'Broken Melody'
by Cavendish Morton
toned bromide print on card mount, 1916
NPG x46651
Sir John Martin-Harvey as Joseph Lesurques in 'The Lyons Mail'
by John Capstack
gelatin silver print, circa 1931
NPG x198533
by Bassano Ltd
whole-plate glass negative, 3 December 1931
NPG x81386
by Bassano Ltd
whole-plate glass negative, 3 December 1931
NPG x81175
by Bassano Ltd
whole-plate glass negative, 3 December 1931
NPG x81174
by Walter Stoneman
bromide print, 1933
NPG x168189
Sir John Martin-Harvey as Napoleon in 'The Exile'
by London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company, published by Davidson Brothers
postcard print
NPG Ax45893
by Alexander ('Alick') Penrose Forbes Ritchie
lithograph, published 14 June 1905
NPG D9851
by Alexander ('Alick') Penrose Forbes Ritchie
colour relief halftone cigarette card, 1926
NPG D18015
by Mark Wayner (Weiner)
lithograph, published 1931
NPG D23320
by Unknown artist, issued by Godfrey Phillips
colour relief halftone cigarette card, 1932
NPG D2722
by Walter Stoneman
half-plate glass copy negative, July 1948 (1933)
NPG x189488
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