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Sir Edward Sabine

14 of 64 portraits by Stephen Pearce

Sir Edward Sabine, by Stephen Pearce, 1850 -NPG 907 - © National Portrait Gallery, London

© National Portrait Gallery, London

Early Victorian Portraits Catalogue

Sir Edward Sabine

by Stephen Pearce
1850
14 7/8 in. x 12 5/8 in. (378 mm x 321 mm)
NPG 907

Inscriptionback to top

Inscribed on the back of the picture in the artist's hand: The original study,/for the Historical Picture of the Arctic Council/of/Col. Sabine, R.A. &c - &c - &c/by Stephen Pearce.

This portraitback to top

This is a study for Pearce's group of the 'Arctic Council' (see NPG 1208), as well as an autonomous portrait in its own right. The pose and features are identical in both, except that Sabine is shown wearing uniform in the group. The date of the NPG portrait was provided by the artist in a memorandum of c.1899 (NPG archives). Pearce also painted a three-quarter length portrait of Sabine in 1855, based on the NPG study and further sittings, which is now in the Royal Society, London, engraved by J. Scott, published H. Graves, 1859 (example in NPG). In his memorandum Pearce records painting a replica of this last portrait for Lady Sabine; he also records a fourth unidentified portrait of Sabine (Memories, p 58).

Referenceback to top

Pearce 1903
S. Pearce, Memories of the Past (1903), pp 57-8.

Physical descriptionback to top

Healthy complexion, bluish eyes, grey hair and whiskers. Dressed in a black stock, white shirt and brown coat. Background colour brown. There are several paint losses in the bottom left-hand corner.

Provenanceback to top

Commissioned or purchased by Lady Franklin, and bequeathed by her niece, Miss Sophia Cracroft, in accordance with the wishes of her aunt, 1892.

Exhibitionsback to top

Royal Naval Exhibition, Chelsea, 1891 (37).


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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