1 OF 26 
Dame Ethel Mary Smyth
1 of 26 portraits of Dame Ethel Mary Smyth
© National Portrait Gallery, London
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Dame Ethel Mary Smyth
by John Singer Sargent
black chalk, 1901
23 1/2 in. x 18 1/8 in. (597 mm x 460 mm)
Given by the sitter's nieces, Mrs Elwes, Mrs Williamson and Lady Grant Lawson, 1944
Primary Collection
NPG 3243
Sitterback to top
- Dame Ethel Mary Smyth (1858-1944), Composer, writer and suffragette. Sitter in 26 portraits.
Artistback to top
- John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), Portrait and landscape painter and muralist. Artist or producer associated with 72 portraits, Sitter in 5 portraits.
Linked publicationsback to top
- Ormond, Richard, Sargent: Portraits of Artists and Friends, 2015 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 12 February - 25 May 2015), p. 169
- Rogers, Malcolm, Master Drawings from the National Portrait Gallery, 1993 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 5 August to 23 October 1994), p. 2,145
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 572
- Tinker, Christopher, Speak its Name! - Quotations by and about Gay Men and Women, 2016, p. 42
Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top
- Sargent: Portraits of Artists and Friends (12 February 2015 - 25 May 2015)
Events of 1901back to top
Current affairs
Queen Victoria dies on 23 January. She is succeeded to the throne by her son, Prince Edward, aged 60, who reigned until his death in 1910. The census results of this year show the huge changes that took place in Britain during her reign, revealing that the population of Britain had doubled in the past 50 years, to 38 million.Art and science
The start of Pablo Picasso's Blue Period, in which he produces a series of paintings dominated by the colour blue and melancholic mood. Significantly, the period marks the transition in Picasso's style from classicism to abstract art.Beatrix Potter privately publishes The Tale of Peter Rabbit after it is rejected by six publishers.
International
The six colonies of Australia become a federation, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia remains a Commonwealth Realm. This year Australia also passes the Immigration Restriction Act, which limits immigration to Australia and forms the basis of the White Australia policy, a collection of historical legislation and policies designed to restrict non-white immigration to Australia between 1830-1973, although reforms against the policy were introduced in the 1940s.Comments back to top
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