About this artwork
Thomas Carlyle was one of the greatest historians and essayists of the nineteenth century. Born and educated in Dumfriesshire, he briefly worked as a teacher before turning to writing. The publication of his translations of foreign literature brought him into contact with other writers such as Coleridge and Thomas Campbell. In 1826 he married Jane Baillie Welsh, an intelligent self-educated woman and a writer in her own right. The couple settled in Chelsea where they became a focus for many well-known literary and political figures of the time. The artist of this work was the wife of Irish poet William Allingham, a friend of Carlyle. Although Helen Allingham specialised in romantic views of rural England, she occasionally painted portraits of her family and her husband’s friends.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Mrs Helen Allingham (1848 - 1926) English
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title:Thomas Carlyle, 1795 - 1881. Historian and essayist
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date created:1879
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materials:Watercolour on paper
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measurements:19.40 x 28.00 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased 1915
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accession number:PG 845
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gallery:
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depicted:
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subject:
Mrs Helen Allingham
Mrs Helen Allingham
Helen Allingham was one of the best known Victorian painters in watercolours and one of the most successful female British artists ever. After studying art in Birmingham and London, she started as an illustrator for The Graphic before turning to watercolours. Her chosen subject matter of idealised...