Early Victorian Portraits Catalogue
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (1809-1892), Poet Laureate
- Gallery portraits
- All known portraits
- Biography and References
The largest collection of portraits and photographs is at Lincoln, divided between the Tennyson Research Centre at the Central Reference Library, and the Tennyson Room at the Usher Art Gallery. These are referred to below as Lincoln Central Library and Usher Art Gallery, respectively. The numbers in brackets after the items in the Usher Art Gallery refer to the catalogue of the Tennyson Collection: Usher Art Gallery, Lincoln (Lincoln, 1963). The Tennyson Memorial Exhibition was held at the Fine Art Society, London, 1909. A series of articles on Tennyson's portraits by Theodore Watts was published in the Magazine of Art (1893), pp 37-43, 96-101, 177-8 (references given below).
1824
Silhouette called Tennyson by an unknown artist. Usher Art Gallery (169), on loan from the Hon Mrs A. Tennyson.
1830
Drawing by J. Harden (with Hallam, John Harden, and Mrs Harden, on board the 'Leeds' from Bordeaux to Dublin). Collection of A. S. Clay. Exhibited Tennyson Memorial Exhibition, 1909 (14). Reproduced H. Tennyson, Tennyson & His Friends (1911), facing p 441. A photograph is in the Usher Art Gallery (345). Another similar drawing is also in the collection of A. S. Clay.
c.1831
Drawing attributed to J. Spedding (NPG 3940).
1835
Drawing by J. Spedding (at Mirehouse). Reproduced H. Tennyson, Alfred Lord Tennyson: a Memoir (1897), I, facing 146. A photograph is in the Usher Art Gallery (166).
Drawing by E. Fitzgerald (at Mirehouse). Reproduced H. Tennyson, I, facing 153. A similar drawing is in the collection of J. Spedding, Mirehouse.
c.1837-40
Miniature by Miss A. Dixon. Two versions: 1. Collection of Lord Brownlow, given by the artist to Lady Marian Alford, wife of Viscount Alford, eldest son of the 1st Earl Brownlow. 2. Collection of Mrs Rachel Bigg and her brothers, exhibited Special Exhibition of Portrait Miniatures, South Kensington Museum, 1865 (2926), lent by J. L. Fytche, reproduced Sir C. Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson (1949), facing p 81. The pose and the unfinished treatment of the coat are very similar to the Laurence portrait of c.1840 (see below), and may partly be based on it. Miss Dixon lived at Horncastle, and it has been suggested that she may have painted Tennyson before he left Lincolnshire.
c.1840
Painting by S. Laurence (NPG 2460).
Drawing called Tennyson by his sister-in-law, Mrs Agnes Weld, said to be after an early daguerreotype. Lincoln Central Library. Exhibited Tennyson Memorial Exhibition, 1909 (19). Engraved by E. J. Stodart, as after a daguerreotype of 1838 (this is impossible, since Daguerre had not yet published his invention) (example in NPG), for H. Tennyson, Alfred Lord Tennyson: a Memoir (1897), I, facing 166. The features are quite unlike those in other early recorded portraits of Tennyson.
Anonymous etching, apparently based on the Laurence portrait (example in NPG).
c.1850
Three drawings by R. Doyle. British Museum. One is reproduced Magazine of Art (1893), p 39.
1851
Bronze medallion by T. Woolner. Usher Art Gallery (164, where it is erroneously said to be one of the 1856 medallions; see NPG 3847).
1855
Drawing by D. G. Rossetti (reading 'Maud' at Browning's house, 27 September 1855)
Collection of Mrs Donald Hyde, USA (from Browning's collection). Exhibited VE, 1892 (395). Reproduced in the catalogue of the Browning Sale, Sotheby's, 1-8 May 1913, facing p 6. Two other versions are in the City Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, and formerly collection of W. M. Rossetti; the former is widely reproduced, the latter in Pre-Raphaelite Letters and Diaries, edited W. M. Rossetti (1900), facing p 233.
1856
Medallion by T. Woolner (see NPG 3847).
c.1856-7
Busts by T. Woolner (see NPG 947).
c.1856
Photograph by Mayall. Engraved by H. Linton, after a drawing by E. Morin (examples in British Museum and Usher Art Gallery), for the National Magazine, November 1856. Engraved anonymously in reverse (example in NPG).
1857
Painting by G. F. Watts. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (see list at the end of the entry for NPG 1015).
Photograph by L. Carroll (several examples extant). Reproduced S. D. Collingwood, The Life and Letters of Lewis Carroll (1898), facing p 71. Carroll also did a photograph of Tennyson and his family at the same time. For a third photograph previously attributed to Carroll, see the photograph by Cundall and Downes of 1861 below.
c.1857
Marble bust by W. Brodie. Exhibited RA, 1857 (1354).
Photograph by O. Rejlander (with his wife and sons at Farringford) (example in Usher Art Gallery, 208). Reproduced Magazine of Art (1893), p 40.
1859
Painting by G. F. Watts. Collection of Mrs Hervey-Bathurst, Eastnor Castle (see list at the end of the entry for NPG 1015).
Photograph by O. Rejlander (full-length, in his cloak) (example in Usher Art Gallery, 201).
Engraved by E. J. Stodart (example in NPG), for H. Tennyson, Alfred Lord Tennyson: a Memoir (1897), I, facing 438. Other similar photographs, apparently by Rejlander, are in the Usher Art Gallery (202, 209).
c.1860
Cameo by F. Anderson. Exhibited RA, 1860 (880).
1861
Two similar photographs by Cundall and Downes (three-quarter and half-length, wearing a hat) (examples in NPG). The half-length is reproduced Magazine of Art (1893), p 178, as by an unknown photographer. A third photograph (example in NPG), reproduced H. Gernsheim, Lewis Carroll – Photographer (1949), plate 8, as by Carroll, is also certainly by Cundall and Downes (the costume, apart from the absence of a hat, is very similar to that in the two photographs of 1861). The attribution to Cundall was first suggested by W. D. Paden, Times Literary Supplement (30 June 1950), p 412.
1863-4
Paintings by G. F. Watts (see NPG 1015).
1863
Lithograph by M. Julien, after a photograph by O. Rejlander, published H. Graves and V. Delarue, 1863 (example in NPG).
1864
Medallion by T. Woolner. Examples in bronze and marble, Usher Art Gallery (178-9; see list at the end of the entry for NPG 947).
Photograph by J. Mayall (examples in Lincoln Central Library), published 'Mayall's New Series of Photographic Portraits'. Engraved by W. H. Mote (example in NPG). This was Tennyson's favourite photograph.
c.1864
Painting by E. G. Girardot, based on the Mayall photograph above. Usher Art Gallery (180). Reproduced Magazine of Art (1893), facing p 42.
Drawing by L. Dickinson, based on the Mayall photograph above. Offered to NPG by Colnaghi, 1894 (reproduction in NPG). Another version, inscribed to Lady Tennyson and dated 1892, is in the Usher Art Gallery (186).
Drawing by M. Arnault, based on the Mayall photograph above (NPG 970).
Profile photograph by Elliott and Fry (examples in NPG).
Various photographs by W. Jeffrey (examples in NPG and Lincoln Central Library). One of these reproduced as a woodcut by M. Jackson ILN, XLIV (1864), 165.
Woodcut, after a drawing by Sir J. Gilbert, of Tennyson meeting Garibaldi, published ILN, XLIV (1864), 381.
Various photographs by the London Stereoscopic Company (examples in NPG). One of them litho-graphed (example in NPG), for 'Cassell's Modern Portrait Gallery'.
1865
Photograph by Mrs J. M. Cameron (examples in NPG, Usher Art Gallery, and elsewhere).
Nicknamed by Tennyson 'The Dirty Monk'. Reproduced H. Gernsheim, Julia Margaret Cameron (1948), plate 22, Magazine of Art (1893), p 43, and elsewhere.
1867
Photograph by Mrs J. M. Cameron (looking to right) (dated examples in Lincoln Central Library).
Reproduced Alfred, Lord Tennyson and his Friends (1893), plate 4, where the date given is 1866.
c.1867
Photograph by Mrs J. M. Cameron (full-face). Reproduced H. Gernsheim, Julia Margaret Cameron (1948), plate 7.
1869
Photograph by Mrs J. M. Cameron (looking to right) (example in NPG). Reproduced H. Gernsheim, Julia Margaret Cameron (1948), plate 52.
c.1869
Photograph by Mrs J. M. Cameron (looking down, blurred) (example in Lincoln Central Library).
Cameo by J. Ronca. Exhibited RA, 1869 (1072).
1871
Coloured lithograph by 'Ape' (C. Pellegrini), published Vanity Fair, 22 July 1871. A pencil study is in the collection of Sir Charles Tennyson.
Photograph by B. Scott & Son of Carlisle (with the family of Charles Howard at Naworth Castle) (example in Usher Art Gallery, 200).
c.1871
Engraving after a photograph by Mrs J. M. Cameron of 1871 (reading) (example in NPG); engraving reproduced Magazine of Art (1893), p 97.
c.1872
Medallion by C. Jahn. Exhibited RA, 1872 (1493).
1873
Busts by T. Woolner (see NPG 1667).
c.1873
Two drawings by the 9th Earl of Carlisle (on the same sheet of paper). Collection of Lord Henley. Exhibited George Howard and his Circle, City Art Gallery, Carlisle, 1968 (123).
Caricature by F. Waddy, reproduced in his Cartoon Portraits (1873), facing p 8.
1874
Engraving of a sketch by C. Holden, after a photograph by Downey. Usher Art Gallery (111).
c.1875
Various photographs by Mayall (examples in NPG). One engraved anonymously, published W. Mackenzie (example in NPG); another published Men of Mark (1883).
Photograph by Elliott and Fry (full-face, in a hat) (example in NPG).
1876
Marble bust by J. D. Crittenden. Exhibited RA, 1876 (1485).
1879
Water-colour by Sir H. Herkomer. Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight.
Exhibited Summer Exhibition, Grosvenor Gallery, London, 1879 (49), and Tennyson Centenary Exhibition, 1909 (63). Photogravure (example in NPG). A related chalk drawing of 1879 is in the Usher Art Gallery (187), and a related etching of 1879 was published Goupil, 1879 (example in NPG), exhibited Grosvenor Gallery, 1879 (275), reproduced Magazine of Art (1893), p 178. The pose and features of all three portraits are similar, but there are differences in costume.
1880
Drawing by Mrs H. Allingham. Tennyson Centenary Exhibition, 1909 (112). Another sketch by Mrs Allingham of 1880 was in the same exhibition (136).
c.1880
Etching by P. Rajon (example in Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). Reproduced Print-Collector's Quarterly, VI (c.1916), 429, and Magazine of Art (1893), p 100.
1881
Painting by Sir J. E. Millais. Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight.
Exhibited Fine Art Society, London, 1881, Millais Exhibition, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, and Royal Academy, London, 1967 (101), and elsewhere. See R. R. Tatlock, English Paintings ... In the Lady Lever Art Gallery (1928), p 103. Engraved by T. O. Barlow, published Fine Art Society, 1882 (example in NPG), engraving exhibited RA, 1882 (1289); photogravure detail of the head (example in NPG).
1882
Photograph by Barraud (in a hat) (example in NPG). Another photograph by Barraud of roughly the same date (example in NPG), was published in Men and Women of the Day (1888); a water-colour by W. H. Margetson, based on this photograph, is in the NPG above). There is a later photograph by Barraud (without a hat) (reproduction in NPG), lithographed by J. A. Vinter (example in Lincoln Central Library); the drawing by R. Lehmann of 1890 (see below) is based on it.
c.1882
Medallion by A. Legros. Bronze cast in City Art Gallery, Manchester; plaster cast in Usher Art Gallery (171, as by an unknown artist). The type was exhibited RA, 1882 (606). Other examples are reproduced Magazine of Art (1893), p 8, and Connoisseur, XX (1910), 275. Legros also executed a lithograph of Tennyson (example with Craddock & Barnard, London, 1970).
1883
Woodcut cartoon by Sir J. Tenniel, published Punch, LXXXV (22 September 1883), 139.
1884
Drawing by F. Sandys. Collection of Harold Macmillan.
Exhibited Tennyson Centenary Exhibition, 1909 (85). Reproduced Apollo, LXXXV (1967), 45. Lithograph, Usher Art Gallery (188).
c.1884
Bronze medal by J. W. Minton (example in Usher Art Gallery, 173). Type exhibted RA, 1884 (1854).
Etching by A. Forestier, after a photograph by Elliott and Fry (example recorded by G. Scharf, Sir George Scharf's Sketch Books (NPG archives), CXIII, 30). Reproduced as a woodcut in the supplement to ILN, 19 January 1884.
1885
Etching by S. Hollyer, after C. Roberts (in his study at Aldworth) (example in Usher Art Gallery, 192).
Woodcut cartoon by L. Sambourne, published Punch, LXXXVIII (27 June 1885), 302.
1888
Photograph by H. H. H. Cameron (full-face, in a hat) (example in Lincoln Central Library).
Reproduced Alfred, Lord Tennyson and his Friends (1893), plate 5, and apparently ILN, CI (1892), 473. Another late photograph by Cameron and Smith (wearing a skull-cap) is reproduced as a woodcut ILN, CI (1892), 483.
c.1889
Drawing by R. Cleaver (from memory, with his nurse on Freshwater Downs, after his illness of 1888-9) (reproduction in Usher Art Gallery, 185).
1890
Painting by G. F. Watts (in academic gown). Trinity College, Cambridge. Variant version (in peer's robes): Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide (see list at the end of the entry for NPG 1015, for both).
Water-colour or drawing by Mrs H. Allingham (in his study). Tennyson Centenary Exhibition, 1909 (136), lent by the artist. Presumably the portrait of 1890 of which there is an engraving in the Lincoln Central Library.
Drawing by R. Lehmann (based on a photograph by Barraud). British Museum. Reproduced R. Lehmann, Men and Women of the Century (1896), no.73, and Magazine of Art (1893), p 101.
Engraving by W. B. Gardner, after a photograph by Mrs Cameron (example in NPG), published as a supplement to Black and White, 26 December 1891. A bronze medal, apparently after the same photograph, is in the Usher Art Gallery (170).
1891
Water-colour by W. H. Margetson (based on a photograph by Barraud) (NPG 4343).
Woodcut cartoon by Sir J. Tenniel, published Punch, CI (15 August 1891), 79.
1892
Drawing by L. G. Holland (walking in Parliament Square, 22 July 5892). L. G. Holland, 'Sketchbooks' (NPG archives), VIII, 54.
Engraving by M. Klinkicht (reproduction in Usher Art Gallery, 193).
Woodcut of Tennyson on his deathbed, from the ILN (reproduction in the Usher Art Gallery, 383).
c.1892
Drawing or woodcut by W. B. Gardner. Exhibited RA, 1892 (1592).
Possibly the woodcut exhibited Victorian Era Exhibition, 1897, 'Fine Art Section' (1227), lent by the artist (see also NPG 1015).
Photograph by H. H. H. Cameron (profile; the last photograph taken of the poet) (reproduction in NPG). Reproduced ILN, CI (1892), 489.
1893
Busts by F. J. Williamson (see NPG 1178).
Marble bust by Miss M. Grant, after a bust by Woolner (NPG 947).
c.1893
Miniature by Miss E. Webling. Exhibited RA, 1893 (1334).
Marble bust by J. T. Tussaud. Exhibited RA, 1893 (1705).
c.1894
Bust by J. Whitehead. Exhibited RA, 1894 (1741).
c.1898-1905
Bronze statue by G. F. Watts. Lincoln (see list at end of entry for NPG 1015).
c.1898
Statuette by F. Mowbray Taubman. Exhibited Royal Society of Portrait Painters, 1898 (192).
c.1899
Bust by H. Montford. Exhibited RA, 1899 (1954)
1901
Drawing by Alice Hambridge. Tennyson Centenary Exhibition, 1909 (91), lent by Lord Tennyson.
c.1910
Marble statue by W. H. Thornycroft. Trinity College, Cambridge.
Model exhibited RA, 1910 (1909), reproduced Cassell's Royal Academy Pictures (1910), p 130.
Undated
Drawing by J. W. Wilson (in the House of Lords), reproduced as a woodcut, ILN, CI (1892), 478.
Bronze cast of Tennyson's left hand. Usher Art Gallery (172).
Photograph of Tennyson, possibly by Mrs J. M. Cameron (with Hallam and Lionel) (example in Usher Art Gallery, 210), reproduced H. Tennyson, Tennyson and his Friends (1911), facing p 188.
Various anonymous photographs (examples in NPG, and at Lincoln), and an anonymous engraving after one of them (example in NPG). Other photographs are reproduced as woodcuts ILN, CI (1892), 488 (with Hallam and Lady Tennyson)) and 487.
This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: Richard Ormond, Early Victorian Portraits, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1973, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.
1824
Silhouette called Tennyson by an unknown artist. Usher Art Gallery (169), on loan from the Hon Mrs A. Tennyson.
1830
Drawing by J. Harden (with Hallam, John Harden, and Mrs Harden, on board the 'Leeds' from Bordeaux to Dublin). Collection of A. S. Clay. Exhibited Tennyson Memorial Exhibition, 1909 (14). Reproduced H. Tennyson, Tennyson & His Friends (1911), facing p 441. A photograph is in the Usher Art Gallery (345). Another similar drawing is also in the collection of A. S. Clay.
c.1831
Drawing attributed to J. Spedding (NPG 3940).
1835
Drawing by J. Spedding (at Mirehouse). Reproduced H. Tennyson, Alfred Lord Tennyson: a Memoir (1897), I, facing 146. A photograph is in the Usher Art Gallery (166).
Drawing by E. Fitzgerald (at Mirehouse). Reproduced H. Tennyson, I, facing 153. A similar drawing is in the collection of J. Spedding, Mirehouse.
c.1837-40
Miniature by Miss A. Dixon. Two versions: 1. Collection of Lord Brownlow, given by the artist to Lady Marian Alford, wife of Viscount Alford, eldest son of the 1st Earl Brownlow. 2. Collection of Mrs Rachel Bigg and her brothers, exhibited Special Exhibition of Portrait Miniatures, South Kensington Museum, 1865 (2926), lent by J. L. Fytche, reproduced Sir C. Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson (1949), facing p 81. The pose and the unfinished treatment of the coat are very similar to the Laurence portrait of c.1840 (see below), and may partly be based on it. Miss Dixon lived at Horncastle, and it has been suggested that she may have painted Tennyson before he left Lincolnshire.
c.1840
Painting by S. Laurence (NPG 2460).
Drawing called Tennyson by his sister-in-law, Mrs Agnes Weld, said to be after an early daguerreotype. Lincoln Central Library. Exhibited Tennyson Memorial Exhibition, 1909 (19). Engraved by E. J. Stodart, as after a daguerreotype of 1838 (this is impossible, since Daguerre had not yet published his invention) (example in NPG), for H. Tennyson, Alfred Lord Tennyson: a Memoir (1897), I, facing 166. The features are quite unlike those in other early recorded portraits of Tennyson.
Anonymous etching, apparently based on the Laurence portrait (example in NPG).
c.1850
Three drawings by R. Doyle. British Museum. One is reproduced Magazine of Art (1893), p 39.
1851
Bronze medallion by T. Woolner. Usher Art Gallery (164, where it is erroneously said to be one of the 1856 medallions; see NPG 3847).
1855
Drawing by D. G. Rossetti (reading 'Maud' at Browning's house, 27 September 1855)
Collection of Mrs Donald Hyde, USA (from Browning's collection). Exhibited VE, 1892 (395). Reproduced in the catalogue of the Browning Sale, Sotheby's, 1-8 May 1913, facing p 6. Two other versions are in the City Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, and formerly collection of W. M. Rossetti; the former is widely reproduced, the latter in Pre-Raphaelite Letters and Diaries, edited W. M. Rossetti (1900), facing p 233.
1856
Medallion by T. Woolner (see NPG 3847).
c.1856-7
Busts by T. Woolner (see NPG 947).
c.1856
Photograph by Mayall. Engraved by H. Linton, after a drawing by E. Morin (examples in British Museum and Usher Art Gallery), for the National Magazine, November 1856. Engraved anonymously in reverse (example in NPG).
1857
Painting by G. F. Watts. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (see list at the end of the entry for NPG 1015).
Photograph by L. Carroll (several examples extant). Reproduced S. D. Collingwood, The Life and Letters of Lewis Carroll (1898), facing p 71. Carroll also did a photograph of Tennyson and his family at the same time. For a third photograph previously attributed to Carroll, see the photograph by Cundall and Downes of 1861 below.
c.1857
Marble bust by W. Brodie. Exhibited RA, 1857 (1354).
Photograph by O. Rejlander (with his wife and sons at Farringford) (example in Usher Art Gallery, 208). Reproduced Magazine of Art (1893), p 40.
1859
Painting by G. F. Watts. Collection of Mrs Hervey-Bathurst, Eastnor Castle (see list at the end of the entry for NPG 1015).
Photograph by O. Rejlander (full-length, in his cloak) (example in Usher Art Gallery, 201).
Engraved by E. J. Stodart (example in NPG), for H. Tennyson, Alfred Lord Tennyson: a Memoir (1897), I, facing 438. Other similar photographs, apparently by Rejlander, are in the Usher Art Gallery (202, 209).
c.1860
Cameo by F. Anderson. Exhibited RA, 1860 (880).
1861
Two similar photographs by Cundall and Downes (three-quarter and half-length, wearing a hat) (examples in NPG). The half-length is reproduced Magazine of Art (1893), p 178, as by an unknown photographer. A third photograph (example in NPG), reproduced H. Gernsheim, Lewis Carroll – Photographer (1949), plate 8, as by Carroll, is also certainly by Cundall and Downes (the costume, apart from the absence of a hat, is very similar to that in the two photographs of 1861). The attribution to Cundall was first suggested by W. D. Paden, Times Literary Supplement (30 June 1950), p 412.
1863-4
Paintings by G. F. Watts (see NPG 1015).
1863
Lithograph by M. Julien, after a photograph by O. Rejlander, published H. Graves and V. Delarue, 1863 (example in NPG).
1864
Medallion by T. Woolner. Examples in bronze and marble, Usher Art Gallery (178-9; see list at the end of the entry for NPG 947).
Photograph by J. Mayall (examples in Lincoln Central Library), published 'Mayall's New Series of Photographic Portraits'. Engraved by W. H. Mote (example in NPG). This was Tennyson's favourite photograph.
c.1864
Painting by E. G. Girardot, based on the Mayall photograph above. Usher Art Gallery (180). Reproduced Magazine of Art (1893), facing p 42.
Drawing by L. Dickinson, based on the Mayall photograph above. Offered to NPG by Colnaghi, 1894 (reproduction in NPG). Another version, inscribed to Lady Tennyson and dated 1892, is in the Usher Art Gallery (186).
Drawing by M. Arnault, based on the Mayall photograph above (NPG 970).
Profile photograph by Elliott and Fry (examples in NPG).
Various photographs by W. Jeffrey (examples in NPG and Lincoln Central Library). One of these reproduced as a woodcut by M. Jackson ILN, XLIV (1864), 165.
Woodcut, after a drawing by Sir J. Gilbert, of Tennyson meeting Garibaldi, published ILN, XLIV (1864), 381.
Various photographs by the London Stereoscopic Company (examples in NPG). One of them litho-graphed (example in NPG), for 'Cassell's Modern Portrait Gallery'.
1865
Photograph by Mrs J. M. Cameron (examples in NPG, Usher Art Gallery, and elsewhere).
Nicknamed by Tennyson 'The Dirty Monk'. Reproduced H. Gernsheim, Julia Margaret Cameron (1948), plate 22, Magazine of Art (1893), p 43, and elsewhere.
1867
Photograph by Mrs J. M. Cameron (looking to right) (dated examples in Lincoln Central Library).
Reproduced Alfred, Lord Tennyson and his Friends (1893), plate 4, where the date given is 1866.
c.1867
Photograph by Mrs J. M. Cameron (full-face). Reproduced H. Gernsheim, Julia Margaret Cameron (1948), plate 7.
1869
Photograph by Mrs J. M. Cameron (looking to right) (example in NPG). Reproduced H. Gernsheim, Julia Margaret Cameron (1948), plate 52.
c.1869
Photograph by Mrs J. M. Cameron (looking down, blurred) (example in Lincoln Central Library).
Cameo by J. Ronca. Exhibited RA, 1869 (1072).
1871
Coloured lithograph by 'Ape' (C. Pellegrini), published Vanity Fair, 22 July 1871. A pencil study is in the collection of Sir Charles Tennyson.
Photograph by B. Scott & Son of Carlisle (with the family of Charles Howard at Naworth Castle) (example in Usher Art Gallery, 200).
c.1871
Engraving after a photograph by Mrs J. M. Cameron of 1871 (reading) (example in NPG); engraving reproduced Magazine of Art (1893), p 97.
c.1872
Medallion by C. Jahn. Exhibited RA, 1872 (1493).
1873
Busts by T. Woolner (see NPG 1667).
c.1873
Two drawings by the 9th Earl of Carlisle (on the same sheet of paper). Collection of Lord Henley. Exhibited George Howard and his Circle, City Art Gallery, Carlisle, 1968 (123).
Caricature by F. Waddy, reproduced in his Cartoon Portraits (1873), facing p 8.
1874
Engraving of a sketch by C. Holden, after a photograph by Downey. Usher Art Gallery (111).
c.1875
Various photographs by Mayall (examples in NPG). One engraved anonymously, published W. Mackenzie (example in NPG); another published Men of Mark (1883).
Photograph by Elliott and Fry (full-face, in a hat) (example in NPG).
1876
Marble bust by J. D. Crittenden. Exhibited RA, 1876 (1485).
1879
Water-colour by Sir H. Herkomer. Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight.
Exhibited Summer Exhibition, Grosvenor Gallery, London, 1879 (49), and Tennyson Centenary Exhibition, 1909 (63). Photogravure (example in NPG). A related chalk drawing of 1879 is in the Usher Art Gallery (187), and a related etching of 1879 was published Goupil, 1879 (example in NPG), exhibited Grosvenor Gallery, 1879 (275), reproduced Magazine of Art (1893), p 178. The pose and features of all three portraits are similar, but there are differences in costume.
1880
Drawing by Mrs H. Allingham. Tennyson Centenary Exhibition, 1909 (112). Another sketch by Mrs Allingham of 1880 was in the same exhibition (136).
c.1880
Etching by P. Rajon (example in Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). Reproduced Print-Collector's Quarterly, VI (c.1916), 429, and Magazine of Art (1893), p 100.
1881
Painting by Sir J. E. Millais. Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight.
Exhibited Fine Art Society, London, 1881, Millais Exhibition, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, and Royal Academy, London, 1967 (101), and elsewhere. See R. R. Tatlock, English Paintings ... In the Lady Lever Art Gallery (1928), p 103. Engraved by T. O. Barlow, published Fine Art Society, 1882 (example in NPG), engraving exhibited RA, 1882 (1289); photogravure detail of the head (example in NPG).
1882
Photograph by Barraud (in a hat) (example in NPG). Another photograph by Barraud of roughly the same date (example in NPG), was published in Men and Women of the Day (1888); a water-colour by W. H. Margetson, based on this photograph, is in the NPG above). There is a later photograph by Barraud (without a hat) (reproduction in NPG), lithographed by J. A. Vinter (example in Lincoln Central Library); the drawing by R. Lehmann of 1890 (see below) is based on it.
c.1882
Medallion by A. Legros. Bronze cast in City Art Gallery, Manchester; plaster cast in Usher Art Gallery (171, as by an unknown artist). The type was exhibited RA, 1882 (606). Other examples are reproduced Magazine of Art (1893), p 8, and Connoisseur, XX (1910), 275. Legros also executed a lithograph of Tennyson (example with Craddock & Barnard, London, 1970).
1883
Woodcut cartoon by Sir J. Tenniel, published Punch, LXXXV (22 September 1883), 139.
1884
Drawing by F. Sandys. Collection of Harold Macmillan.
Exhibited Tennyson Centenary Exhibition, 1909 (85). Reproduced Apollo, LXXXV (1967), 45. Lithograph, Usher Art Gallery (188).
c.1884
Bronze medal by J. W. Minton (example in Usher Art Gallery, 173). Type exhibted RA, 1884 (1854).
Etching by A. Forestier, after a photograph by Elliott and Fry (example recorded by G. Scharf, Sir George Scharf's Sketch Books (NPG archives), CXIII, 30). Reproduced as a woodcut in the supplement to ILN, 19 January 1884.
1885
Etching by S. Hollyer, after C. Roberts (in his study at Aldworth) (example in Usher Art Gallery, 192).
Woodcut cartoon by L. Sambourne, published Punch, LXXXVIII (27 June 1885), 302.
1888
Photograph by H. H. H. Cameron (full-face, in a hat) (example in Lincoln Central Library).
Reproduced Alfred, Lord Tennyson and his Friends (1893), plate 5, and apparently ILN, CI (1892), 473. Another late photograph by Cameron and Smith (wearing a skull-cap) is reproduced as a woodcut ILN, CI (1892), 483.
c.1889
Drawing by R. Cleaver (from memory, with his nurse on Freshwater Downs, after his illness of 1888-9) (reproduction in Usher Art Gallery, 185).
1890
Painting by G. F. Watts (in academic gown). Trinity College, Cambridge. Variant version (in peer's robes): Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide (see list at the end of the entry for NPG 1015, for both).
Water-colour or drawing by Mrs H. Allingham (in his study). Tennyson Centenary Exhibition, 1909 (136), lent by the artist. Presumably the portrait of 1890 of which there is an engraving in the Lincoln Central Library.
Drawing by R. Lehmann (based on a photograph by Barraud). British Museum. Reproduced R. Lehmann, Men and Women of the Century (1896), no.73, and Magazine of Art (1893), p 101.
Engraving by W. B. Gardner, after a photograph by Mrs Cameron (example in NPG), published as a supplement to Black and White, 26 December 1891. A bronze medal, apparently after the same photograph, is in the Usher Art Gallery (170).
1891
Water-colour by W. H. Margetson (based on a photograph by Barraud) (NPG 4343).
Woodcut cartoon by Sir J. Tenniel, published Punch, CI (15 August 1891), 79.
1892
Drawing by L. G. Holland (walking in Parliament Square, 22 July 5892). L. G. Holland, 'Sketchbooks' (NPG archives), VIII, 54.
Engraving by M. Klinkicht (reproduction in Usher Art Gallery, 193).
Woodcut of Tennyson on his deathbed, from the ILN (reproduction in the Usher Art Gallery, 383).
c.1892
Drawing or woodcut by W. B. Gardner. Exhibited RA, 1892 (1592).
Possibly the woodcut exhibited Victorian Era Exhibition, 1897, 'Fine Art Section' (1227), lent by the artist (see also NPG 1015).
Photograph by H. H. H. Cameron (profile; the last photograph taken of the poet) (reproduction in NPG). Reproduced ILN, CI (1892), 489.
1893
Busts by F. J. Williamson (see NPG 1178).
Marble bust by Miss M. Grant, after a bust by Woolner (NPG 947).
c.1893
Miniature by Miss E. Webling. Exhibited RA, 1893 (1334).
Marble bust by J. T. Tussaud. Exhibited RA, 1893 (1705).
c.1894
Bust by J. Whitehead. Exhibited RA, 1894 (1741).
c.1898-1905
Bronze statue by G. F. Watts. Lincoln (see list at end of entry for NPG 1015).
c.1898
Statuette by F. Mowbray Taubman. Exhibited Royal Society of Portrait Painters, 1898 (192).
c.1899
Bust by H. Montford. Exhibited RA, 1899 (1954)
1901
Drawing by Alice Hambridge. Tennyson Centenary Exhibition, 1909 (91), lent by Lord Tennyson.
c.1910
Marble statue by W. H. Thornycroft. Trinity College, Cambridge.
Model exhibited RA, 1910 (1909), reproduced Cassell's Royal Academy Pictures (1910), p 130.
Undated
Drawing by J. W. Wilson (in the House of Lords), reproduced as a woodcut, ILN, CI (1892), 478.
Bronze cast of Tennyson's left hand. Usher Art Gallery (172).
Photograph of Tennyson, possibly by Mrs J. M. Cameron (with Hallam and Lionel) (example in Usher Art Gallery, 210), reproduced H. Tennyson, Tennyson and his Friends (1911), facing p 188.
Various anonymous photographs (examples in NPG, and at Lincoln), and an anonymous engraving after one of them (example in NPG). Other photographs are reproduced as woodcuts ILN, CI (1892), 488 (with Hallam and Lady Tennyson)) and 487.
This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: Richard Ormond, Early Victorian Portraits, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1973, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.