William Blake
© National Portrait Gallery, London
William Blake
by William Bell Scott, after Thomas Phillips
etching, 1881 (1807)
12 1/2 in. x 10 in. (316 mm x 254 mm) plate size; 18 1/2 in. x 14 1/2 in. (471 mm x 369 mm) paper size
Purchased with help from the Friends of the National Libraries and the Pilgrim Trust, 1966
Reference Collection
NPG D31872
Sitterback to top
- William Blake (1757-1827), Visionary poet and painter. Sitter in 10 portraits, Artist or producer associated with 5 portraits.
Artistsback to top
- Thomas Phillips (1770-1845), Portrait painter. Artist or producer associated with 218 portraits, Sitter in 4 portraits.
- William Bell Scott (1811-1890), Poet and painter. Artist or producer associated with 3 portraits, Sitter in 4 portraits.
Events of 1881back to top
Current affairs
Benjamin Disraeli dies of bronchitis. He refuses a state funeral and is buried next to his wife, Mary Ann Viscountess Beaconsfield.Gladstone's Irish Land Act is passed in a bid to stop violence carried out by the republican Land League, conducted in protest at the 1870 Land Act.
Henry Mayers Hyndman forms the Marxist Democratic Federation.
Art and science
The Natural History Museum is opened on Exhibition Road, South Kensington. The museum, a landmark gothic design by the architect Alfred Waterhouse, was built to house specimens from the natural sciences, previously in the British Museum's collection. Today, the museum comprises of over 70 million items, and is a world-renowned research centre.International
Alexander II is assassinated in a bomb attack by members of a left-wing revolutionary movement. He was succeeded by his son, Tsar Alexander III.US President James Garfield is shot by Charles Guiteau.
The first Anglo-Boer war ends. The war is started by a Boer uprising, as the British had annexed the Transvaal in 1877. Following Britain's defeat at the Battle of Majuba Hill, a truce is signed giving the Boers self-government and later independence.
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