About this artwork
Born into poverty in industrial Lanarkshire, Keir Hardie began working at seven and was in the mines until his blacklisting by mine owners in 1878. He attended evening classes, took up journalism and campaigned to improve the conditions of his fellow coalminers. In 1888 he became chairman of the Scottish Labour Party, the first independent Labour party in Britain. Dobson's portrait of Keir Hardie making a speech was painted shortly after his election to Parliament in 1892. From 1906, as first Labour leader in the House of Commons, he built up the Party's alliance of socialist and trade union elements.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Henry John Dobson (1858 - 1928) Scottish
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title:James Keir Hardie, 1856 - 1915. Labour leader
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date created:1893
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materials:Oil on canvas
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measurements:127.00 x 101.60 cm; Framed: 139.30 x 113.60 x 5.80 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Presented by Emrys Hughes 1952
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accession number:PG 1580
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gallery:
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depicted:
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subject:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
Henry John Dobson
Henry John Dobson
Born in Peebleshire, Henry John Dobson trained at the School of Design at the Royal Institution in Edinburgh. He exhibited regularly at the Royal Scottish Academy and occasionally at the Royal Academy, London. Primarily a genre painter, Dobson depicted subjects from Scottish daily life, often with...