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Robert Michael Ballantyne

1 of 2 portraits of Robert Michael Ballantyne

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Robert Michael Ballantyne

by John Ballantyne
oil on canvas, circa 1855
25 1/2 in. x 20 in. (648 mm x 508 mm)
Given by Mrs I. McK. Dobson, and family, 1959
Primary Collection
NPG 4128

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  • John Ballantyne (1815-1897), Portrait painter. Artist or producer associated with 9 portraits, Sitter in 1 portrait.

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A prolific writer of adventure stories for boys, Ballantyne joined the Hudson Bay Company at the age of sixteen and his Canadian experiences provided material for his early stories. Always keen to research the settings of his books from life, Ballantyne himself became the image of heroic manliness, whether driving the London-Edinburgh express in preparation for The Iron Horse (1871), or disguising himself as an Arab in Algiers for Pirate City (1874). He is best remembered for Coral Island (1858). This portrait of him was painted by his brother, the artist John Ballantyne, for their friend Willie Bruce. It was painted in memory of the friends' trips to Norway in John Cowan's yacht to fish, shoot and paint.

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Current affairs

Palmerston becomes Prime Minister, leading a coalition government after Lord Aberdeen loses a vote of confidence over his handling of the Crimean war. Known by the nickname 'Lord Pumicestone' for his abrasive style, Palmerston is the oldest prime minister in history to take up the post for the first time at the age of 71.
Stamp duty on newspapers is abolished, creating the mass media market in the UK as newspapers became more widely and cheaply available.

Art and science

Following a trip through the Holy Land to the Dead Sea, William Holman Hunt begins his symbolically-laden painting The Scapegoat.
John Millais marries Effie Gray, previously John Ruskin's wife, after their marriage was annulled that year.
The social theorist and sociologist Herbert Spencer and philosopher G. H. Lewes, publishes Principles of Pyschology, exploring a physiological basis to psychology.

International

The Fall of Sebastopol in the Crimean war, as Russia retreats, and the exhaustion of the Turkish alliance means the war nears its end. Despite being rebuffed by Florence Nightingale's team of nurses, Jamaican-born nurse Mary Seacole travels to the Crimea, opening a 'British Hotel' for sick and injured soldiers. She gains significant attention and praise for her nursing work.

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