Sir William Agnew, 1st Bt
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- Extended Catalogue Entry
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Sir William Agnew, 1st Bt
by Frank Holl
oil on canvas, 1883
40 in. x 50 in. (1016 mm x 1270 mm) sight
Purchased with help from The Geoffrey and Julian Agnew Charitable Trust, 2015
Primary Collection
NPG 6991
Artistback to top
- Francis Montague ('Frank') Holl (1845-1888), Painter; son of Francis Holl. Artist or producer associated with 22 portraits, Sitter in 5 portraits.
This portraitback to top
Agnew and Holl were very closely acquainted, the dealer helping to arrange one of Holl’s most important late commissions, his portrait of Earl Spencer (1888). Holl’s 1883 portrait of Agnew is one of his most sympathetic and demonstrates his considerable abilities as a portrait painter. The background shows The Wayfarers by Fred Walker, one of Agnew’s particular protégés.
Subjects & Themesback to top
Events of 1883back to top
Current affairs
Following the Secret Ballot Act (1872), the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act was a further measure introduced by Gladstone's government with the intention of limiting bribery and intimidation in elections. Candidates' expenses were published, and a strict limit set on expenses, and it also enabled poorer candidates to stand for parliament.Art and science
The Royal College of Music founded in London, with the British musicologist George Grove as its first director.Monet moves to Giverny, a village along the Seine, where he lives until his death in 1926. Renting a farmhouse he later buys, Monet designs a pond, redesigns the garden, and begins to paint some of his most recognisable images of water lilies, flower beds and the Japanese footbridge.
International
The Brooklyn Bridge opens in New York, connecting the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, stretching 1825 metres over the East River. One of the oldest suspension bridges in America, it was the largest in the world upon completion. Designed by the John Augustus Roebling's engineering firm, the bridge is built from limestone, granite and Rosendale natural cement, in gothic style.Comments back to top
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