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Suffragettes 'After the fight' (four unknown women and three unknown Policemen)

5 of 85 portraits by Central Press

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Suffragettes 'After the fight' (four unknown women and three unknown Policemen)

by Central Press
vintage print, circa 1914
6 1/8 in. x 7 3/4 in. (154 mm x 197 mm) image size
Purchased, 1989
Photographs Collection
NPG x137213

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  • Central Press, Photographers. Artist or producer associated with 104 portraits.

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Whilst the individuals in this photograph and the circumstances have not yet been identified, it is likely to depict members of the WSPU during the aftermath of an act of militancy. The repeated refusal by Prime Minister Asquith to debate women’s suffrage in parliament meant that, by 1913, the actions of suffragettes were increasingly desperate and included the destruction of property, arson and bombing, attacking art treasures, large-scale window smashing and the cutting of telegraph wires. These acts were divisive; whilst generating publicity, they alienated many sympathisers and strengthened opposition. Most suffragettes suspended their activities during the First World War in favour of the war effort.

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Events of 1914back to top

Current affairs

Following Germany's declaration of war on France and invasion of Belgium, Herbert Henry Asquith, the British Prime Minister, declares war on the German Empire on August 4, 1914. The popular belief that the conflict would be 'over by Christmas' was soon found to be a bitter underestimate of the scale of the war.

Art and science

The fist issue of the periodical Blast is published by Wyndham Lewis, announcing the advent of Vorticism. This movement, named by Ezra Pound and taking in art and poetry, combined the vitality and dynamism of Italian Futurism with the geometric structure of Cubism. Vorticism was a direct challenge to the perceived quaint and domestic style of the Bloomsbury group and Roger Fry's Omega Workshop.

International

On June 28th 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria is assassinated in Sarajevo leading to Austria's declaration of war against Serbia and triggering the First World War. Germany declared war on Serbia's ally, Russia, and then marched on France via Belgium. Soon all of Europe and most of the world was embroiled in total war.

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