Handlist of names in the Reference Collection

Antient British portraits, containing a series of sixty prints of noble and eminent personages... : with concise biographical notices. Published by Messrs. Boydell & Co., 1812. This volume is incomplete. It contains 6 pages of text with brief biographical notes and 16 engraved portraits, 15 of which are after Sir Anthony Van Dyck and 1 after Sir Peter Lely.

Catalogued portraits - Antient British portraits

Archive Engravings Collection

The Art Union of London, 1836-1911

29 bronze medals of prominent artists and architects, commissioned by the Art Union of London between 1843 and 1892 for distribution to members. The Art Union was founded in 1836 as a subscription society to foster interest in the fine arts and encourage British artists and manufacturers of decorative wares. It ceased to exist in 1911. This collection includes a framed set of 12 medals given by the Council of the Art Union in 1875; a further framed set of 9 medals acquired late 19th century; and 7 medals given as part of a group of 13 medals by Mrs C.E.L. Cowan, 1952.

Catalogued portraits - Art Union medals

See G.K. Beaulah 'The medals of the Art Union of London', British Numismatic Journal vol. 36 (1967), pp. 179-85.

Archive Sculpture Collection

Francis Smyth Baden-Powell, 1850-1933
Barrister at law, painter and sculptor

21 life-size bust-length cut paper silhouettes of well known public, scientific and military figures by Frank Smyth Baden-Powell (brother of Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scout Movement). These silhouettes mostly date from the 1890s and several were cut by Baden-Powell during a visit to Malta in 1892. The collection includes, amongst other, profiles of statesman Joseph Chamberlain (1836-1914) and scientist Sir Francis Galton (1822-1911), who considered the silhouette profile to be the best means of observing types of character. Purchased at Bonhams, 1962.

Catalogued portraits - Baden-Powell

Archive Silhouettes Collection

Sir Cecil Beaton, 1904-1980
Photographer, artist, writer and stage designer

25 sketchbooks and notebooks of Cecil Beaton, including his ‘television sketchbooks’ which contain pencil sketches and caricatures of personalities and popular figures apparently drawn from the television during the 1960s and 1970s. The collection also includes 52 loose drawings and rough sketches, in pencil, pen and ink and watercolour, that Beaton made between the 1930s and 1970s. These drawings represent an assortment of royal, society and theatrical figures, and include some non-portrait subjects. Given by the Trustees of the Estate of Eileen Hose, 1991.

Catalogued portraits - Beaton

Archive Drawings Collection

5 stipple engraved portraits of the bishops who suffered martyrdom for the Protestant faith under the persecution of Queen Mary I, 4 engraved by H.B. Hall and 1 by H. Meyer after J. Childe, published by C. Birch, May 1839. Bound together in a volume with paper covers. Comprises engraved portraits of Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley, Hugh Latimer, Robert Farrar and John Hooper. Paper cover bears inscription: 'Roy Dawson, 3 Ramsay Gardens, Edinburgh, Scotland, Dec. 1889'. Part of the collection assembled by the 20th century print collector J.H. Macdonnell. Purchased at Sotheby's, 1966, with the aid of the Friends of the National Libraries and the Pilgrim Trust.

Catalogued portraits - Bishops

Archive Engravings Collection

Henry Bone, 1755-1834
Enamel and miniature painter

686 preliminary pencil drawings by the early 19th century enamel painter Henry Bone and members of his family after well-known portraits and old master paintings. These drawings were squared before they were transferred in ink to tracing paper and then to a primed copper or brass plate for painting and firing. They were preserved by the family for future use and eventually annotated and pasted into 3 albums, probably at the point that they were acquired by the National Portrait Gallery. Volumes 1 and 3 contain mainly portraits, with volume 2 largely comprised of drawings after old master paintings. The drawings are indexed by subject and artist in a 4th volume, and were photographed in black and white for publication by the Paul Mellon Centre. Acquired by Sir George Scharf, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, circa 1890.

Catalogued portraits - Bone

See Richard Walker ‘Henry Bone’s pencil drawings in the National Portrait Gallery’, Walpole Society vol. 61 (1999), pp. 305-67

See also Richard Walker Regency Portraits (London: NPG 1985) for illustrations of some of the drawings.

Archive Drawings Collection

28 stipple engraved portrait of 17th and 18th century botanists published by Dr Thornton between 1799 and 1810. The engravings are bound together in a volume titled ‘Portraits of Botanists’. Acquired, 1964.

Catalogued portraits - Botanists

Archive Engravings Collection

Alexander Browne, fl. 1659-1706
Print publisher

61 mezzotints published by Alexander Browne during the 1680s, mainly after portraits by Sir Peter Lely and some after Sir Anthony Van Dyck. The portrait prints are bound into an album with a contemporary calf binding and loose subject prints are contained in a separate portfolio. This set is almost complete and it is thought that it may have been assembled by Browne himself. It was formerly in the collection of the Brownlow family of Belton House, Lincolnshire. Purchased at Christies, 1984, with the help of the Friends of the National Libraries.

Catalogued portraits - Browne

See also Prints catalogue Browne

See also Antony Griffiths ‘Early mezzotint publishing in England – II: Peter Lely, Tompson and Browne’ Print Quarterly vol. VII (1990), pp. 131-45.

Archive Engravings Collection

Fanny Burney (Madame d'Arblay), 1752-1840
Diarist and novelist

Early Diary of Frances Burney 1768-1778 (London: G. Bell, 1889) and Diary and Letters of Madame D'Arblay 1778-1840 (London: Macmillan, 1904) re-bound in 25 folio volumes and extra-illustrated throughout with approximately 2,700 engraved portraits and topographical views, plus other reproductions, drawings and some manuscript material. The prints and other items interfiled with the text illustrate the people, events and places described by Burney in her account of society and court life at the end of the 18th century. Typescript indexes of sitters and views are bound in separate volumes. This collection was compiled by the Rt. Hon. Frederick Leverton Harris (1864-1926) and bequeathed by him, 1927.

Frances Burney Diary, 1768-78 catalogued portraits Burney Volume 1, Part 1 | Burney Volume 1, Part 2 | Burney Volume 1, Part 3 | Burney Volume 2, Part 1 | Burney Volume 2, Part 2

Madame D'Arblay Diary, 1778-1840 catalogued portraits D'Arblay Volume 1, Part 1 | D'Arblay Volume 1, Part 2 | D'Arblay Volume 1, Part 3 | D'Arblay Volume 2, Part 1 | D'Arblay Volume 2, Part 2 | D'Arblay Volume 2, Part 3 | D'Arblay Volume 3, Part 1 | D'Arblay Volume 3, Part 2 | D'Arblay Volume 3, Part 3 | D'Arblay Volume 4, Part 1 | D'Arblay Volume 4, Part 2 | D'Arblay Volume 5, Part 1 | D'Arblay Volume 5, Part 2 | D'Arblay Volume 5, Part 3 | D'Arblay Volume 5, Part 4 | D'Arblay Volume 6, Part 1 | D'Arblay Volume 6, Part 2 | D'Arblay Volume 6, Part 3 | D'Arblay Volume 6, Part 4 | D'Arblay supplement

Archive Engravings Collection

Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick, 1768-1821
Queen of George IV

51 caricature etchings illustrating the furore caused by George IV’s divorce proceedings against Queen Caroline in 1820. These etchings were produced by George Cruikshank and others and they were originally published by G. Humphrey in 1821. This set is possibly a re-issue after original publication by G. Humphrey. Purchased, 1987.

Catalogued portraits - Caroline

Archive Engravings Collection

Judy Cassab, 1920-
Artist

10 lithograph portraits of notable Australians by Judy Cassab. This set, contained in a portfolio titled ‘Australian portraits / Judy Cassab’, was published in an edition of 35 copies (of which this is no. 17) by The Beagle Press, Sydney, 1984. Signed and dated by the artist. The sitters include Dame Joan Sutherland, Sir Robert Helpmann and Sir Sidney Nolan. Given by Lou Klepac, 1986.

Catalogued portraits - Cassab

Archive Engravings Collection

William Daniell (1769-1837)
Topographical draftsman amd engraver

George Dance, 1741-1825
Architect and portrait draughtsman

182 soft-ground etchings by William Daniell published between 1802 and 1854 after George Dance’s series of half-length portraits of ‘eminent characters’. These portraits represent friends and contemporaries of Dance, including 53 of his fellow Royal Academicians, which he ‘sketched from life’ between 1793 and 1810. This group complements 37 of George Dance’s original drawings and a number of William Daniell’s preparatory tracings which are held in the Gallery’s primary collection. Acquired from various sources.

Catalogued portraits - Daniell after Dance

Archive Engravings Collection

Honoré Daumier, 1808-1897
Caricaturist

16 lithograph caricatures of mainly British subjects by French caricaturist Honoré Daumier, published between 1849 and 1856. During his career Daumier produced more than 4,000 lithographs that provided a sharp commentary on the dramatic political and social changes of mid-19th century France. 14 of the lithographs in this group were published in the satirical newspaper Le Charivari and they include cartoons of British statesmen Richard Cobden (1804-1865), John Bright (1811-1889) and Thomas Milner-Gibson (1806-1884). One lithograph was acquired as part of the Martin Collection, 1861. The remainder were purchased at Beijers, 1978.

Catalogued portraits - Daumier

Archive Engravings Collection

Geoffrey Davien, d. 1973
Ex-RAF photographic instructor and illustrator

13 plaster caricature figures of political, literary and sporting celebrities, made between 1947 and 1964 by Geoffrey Davien. Davien first started to produce and photograph these sculpted cartoon figures, which he called ‘sculptoons’, after the Second World War. From the 1950s he used them as illustrations in a variety of newspapers and magazines, including the Sunday Graphic, and for cinema posters and foyer displays. Given by the artist’s widow Mrs Shealagh Dickson, 1977.

Catalogued portraits - Davien

Archive Sculpture Collection

William Derby, 1786-1847
Alfred Thomas Derby, 1821-1873
Watercolour and miniature painters

72 pencil, pen and ink drawings by the miniaturist William Derby and his son Alfred Thomas after portraits in various collections including Knowsley Hall, Woburn Abbey, Wentworth Castle and Hamilton Palace. The drawings were squared for transfer preparatory to the production of miniature copies or engravings, and the majority are dated between 1835 and 1842. Many of the drawings have been annotated with the name of the sitter, either by the Derbys, or in some cases a later hand. The artists seem not to have been related to the Earls of Derby, but after producing illustrations for Edmund Lodge's Portraits of Illustrious Personages of Great Britain, William Derby was commissioned to produce watercolour copies of existing portraits of the family, ranging from the 15th through 19th centuries. From 1838 Alfred Thomas assisted his father in this work after the elder Derby suffered a stroke.

Sir George Scharf selected this set of sketches from the collection of drawings in the possession of Charles H. Derby, son of William Derby and brother of Alfred Thomas and purchased them in 1893. The drawings were indexed and pasted into an album at the point that they entered the Archive collection.

Catalogued portraits - Derby

Archive Drawings Collection

Robert Dighton senior, 1751-1814
Robert Dighton junior 1786-1865
Denis Dighton 1792-1827
Richard Dighton 1796?-1880
Portraitists and caricaturists

162 full-length portraits in profile etched by Robert Dighton and his sons Robert, Denis and Richard. The Dightons were one of the most notable artistic families of the Regency period and their etchings, though individual in style, all follow a similar format and were often published with a title consisting of a pun derived from the sitter’s name or occupation. This collection includes theatrical and military subjects together with well known likenesses of City and West End characters produced by the youngest son Richard. Volume 1 comprises a portfolio of disbound prints acquired in the 19th century. Volume 2 was purchased from E. Parsons & Sons, 1907. Volume 3 comprises a box of miscellaneous unmounted loose prints and a further three unnumbered boxes contain prints mounted for display.

Catalogued portraits Dighton Volume 1 | Dighton Volume 2 | Dighton Volume 3

Archive Engravings Collection

John Doyle, 1797-1868
‘HB’, caricaturist

683 lithographs of political sketches by HB, published by Thomas McLean, 1829-1841. Collection contained in 5 volumes (vol. 1: 1829-30; vol 2: 1831-2; vol. 3: 1833-4; vol. 4: 1835-7; vol. 5: 1837-41). Vols. 1-2 are bound; vols. 3-5 have been disbound. John Doyle was born in Dublin and moved to London in 1822 where he initially worked as a portrait lithographer. In 1827 Doyle began publishing political prints anonymously. From 1829-1851 Doyle published his well-known Political Sketches series, signing his work with the initials "HB" to hide his identity. He published almost 1,000 prints in this series. Bookplate of Samuel Boddington inside front covers. Acquired, 19th century.

Catalogued portraits Doyle Volume I | Doyle Volume II | Doyle Volume III |