William Ewart Gladstone
Eveleen Tennant, Mrs Frederick William Henry Myers (1856-1937)
Category
Photographs
Date
1890
Materials
Card
Measurements
498 x 422 mm
Collection
Wallington, Northumberland
NT 586947
Caption
Without the distraction of studio props or backdrop settings, Mrs Eveleen Myers, née Tennant, sought to present her notable sitters in a naturalistic style. Prior to his fourth term as Liberal Party Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone (1809–98) allowed Myers to create several close portraits which, alongside this characterful capture, included one of him smiling. Myers had long fostered an understanding of the art of portraiture and had been the model many times herself. As a child she encountered pioneering portrait photographer Julia Margaret Cameron (1815–79), who had a powerful influence on her work. As a young woman she also posed for eminent artists George Frederic Watts (1817–1904) and John Everett Millais (1829–96), as indeed had Gladstone, who sat for many artists and photographers in the process of shaping his public image. In her late thirties Myers was herself empowered by a new role as a talented photographer – initially of her children and subsequently of prominent society figures.
Summary
Platinum print photograph of William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898) prior to his fourth term as Prime Minister by Eveleen Myers nee Tennant.
Provenance
Gift from Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan 3rd Bt
Marks and inscriptions
Written in ink bottom left below photograph Copyright direst form life by Mrs E.W.H. Myers 1890 Embossed bottom right of photograph Everleen Myres
Makers and roles
Eveleen Tennant, Mrs Frederick William Henry Myers (1856-1937) , photographer