John Ruskin
- Overview
- Extended Catalogue Entry
© National Portrait Gallery, London
John Ruskin
by Lewis Carroll
albumen print, 6 March 1875
3 1/2 in. x 2 1/4 in. (90 mm x 58 mm) overall
Given by an anonymous donor, 1973
Primary Collection
NPG P50
Sitterback to top
- John Ruskin (1819-1900), Writer, artist and social reformer. Sitter associated with 80 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) (1832-1898), Photographer and author of 'Alice in Wonderland'. Artist or producer associated with 62 portraits, Sitter in 9 portraits.
This portraitback to top
Lewis Carroll and Ruskin never developed a close relationship but Carroll did ask for his opinion on occasion and, on 3 June 1875, persuaded him 'with some difficulty' to sit for this photograph. The resulting portrait is somewhat strained and awkward but remains an interesting record of their acquaintance.
Linked publicationsback to top
- Callow, Simon, Oscar Wilde and his Circle, 2013, p. 41
- Callow, Simon, Character Sketches: Oscar Wilde and His Circle, 2000, p. 39
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 538
Events of 1875back to top
Current affairs
Samuel Plimsoll, a back-bench Liberal MP, campaigns for measures to prevent the practice of overloading unseaworthy vessels and claiming insurance. The Plimsoll Line is established; a line drawn on ships, it denotes the maximum legal load a cargo ship is allowed to carry.The Public Health Act, the work of Richard A. Cross, sets down in detail the responsibilities of local authorities in terms of public health.
Art and science
Anthony Trollope's masterpiece The Way We Live Now is published after serialisation. Containing over 100 chapters, the complex plot, following the fortunes of sham financier Augustus Melmotte, tackles the commercial, political and moral hypocrisy of the age.International
Disraeli purchases nearly half the total shares in the Suez Canal Company from the bankrupt Egyptian Khedive, Ismail Pasha, securing a controlling interest in the trading route. Since Parliament was not in session at the time, Disraeli borrowed £4 million from the banking family Rothschilds, attracting much criticism from Parliamentary opponents, although he won popularity from the Queen and the public.Comments back to top
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