Sir Charles Barry

Sir Charles Barry, by John Prescott Knight, circa 1851 - NPG 1272 - © National Portrait Gallery, London

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Sir Charles Barry

by John Prescott Knight
oil on canvas, circa 1851
57 in. x 44 in. (1448 mm x 1118 mm)
Given by the sitter's son, Bishop A. Barry, 1900
Primary Collection
NPG 1272

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • John Prescott Knight (1803-1881), Portrait painter. Artist associated with 25 portraits, Sitter in 4 portraits.

This portraitback to top

The leading architect of his generation, Charles Barry worked mostly in a classical or Italianate style but his major achievement was the Elizabethan-style Houses of Parliament which he designed together with Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin. In this portrait Barry is shown with a pair of compasses in his hand, resting his elbow on some partly unrolled architectural plans which lie on top of a Gothic-style cupboard. The plans show the Victoria Tower of the new Houses of Parliament, which can be seen under construction in the background.

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Events of 1851back to top

Current affairs

A population census is taken of all the people living in Britain, recording details about every householder on the night of March 30. This census greatly extends the fields of the 1841 census, being the first to record full details of individuals' birth locations, exact age, marital status, and details of disability, thus making it a valuable tool for demographers and genealogists. The census was made open for public inspection in 1912.

Art and science

The Great Exhibition is held in London,at the Crystal Palace, especially designed by Sir Joseph Paxton. The international exhibition was designed to showcase the best in science, art and industry. it attracted millions of visitors.
Lizzie Siddal poses for John Millais's painting Ophelia.
Hermann von Helmotz invents the ophthalmoscope, making it possible for doctors to examine within a patient's eye.

International

Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, President of the French Republic, stages a coup d'état, successfully dissolving the French National Assembly without having the constitutional right to do so. Now the sole ruler of France, he re-establishes universal suffrage, previously abolished by the Assembly and becomes 'Napoléon III, Emperor of the French'.

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