Portrait of Charles Dickens

1920s

Not on view

Frith's portrait of the celebrated author and social commentator became immensely popular, and many prints after it were published. The best of these was the large mixed method print by Thomas Oldham Barlow from 1862. By contrast Hart's color mezzotint was probably among the last after the engaging portrait. The likeness was captured at the height of Dickens's fame in 1859, and is set in the study of his Bloomsbury home in London. He is shown seated at his writing desk, and was a commission from his friend (and later biographer) John Forster (1812–1876), who subsequently bequeathed the portrait to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Title: Portrait of Charles Dickens
Engraver: H. Blackburn Hart (British, active 1920s)
Artist: After William Powell Frith (British, Aldfield, Yorkshire 1819–1909 London)
Sitter: Charles Dickens (British, Portsmouth 1812–1870 Rochester)
Date: 1920s
Medium: Color mezzotint
Dimensions: 14 x 11 1/16 in. (35.6 x 28.1 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Anonymous Gift, in memory of Jack R. Stewart, Esq., 2000
Object Number: 2000.628
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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