Thomas Carlyle

This portraitback to top

There are other casts of this death mask at Carlyle's House and the Chelsea Public Library, London. Carlyle died on 4 February 1881. Gilbert executed the cast while he was working as an apprentice to Sir J. E. Boehm. He had considerable difficulty with Carlyle's housekeeper before managing to take the cast.

Referenceback to top

McAllister 1929
I. McAllister, Alfred Gilbert (1929), pp 35-6.

Provenanceback to top

The artist; W. E. H. Lecky, presented by his wife, 1904.


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.

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