Detail of Panoramic View of the Entire Funeral Procession of Arthur, Duke of Wellington, the panel showing Wellington’s horse led by his Groom by Samuel Henry Gordon Alken and George Augustus Sala, 1853 © National Portrait Gallery, London
100 years on, World War One resonates with so many of us because we still have some connection - grandparents or great grandparents who went to war or were involved in the war effort. The Battle of Waterloo, 200 years is so distant that fewer people really know the story.
All credit to the National Portrait Gallery for putting on a free exhibition so visitors can learn more about the battle and the Duke of Wellington.
The curators have been working to catch the public imagination and on show is the NPG's longest portrait, the 67ft view of the Duke of Wellington's funeral goes on display tomorrow (Thursday, March 12).
It really is an exquisite showstopper. Wellington: Triumphs, Politics and Passions, sponsored by Herbert Smith Freehills will run until June 7 but there will be a special 'unrolling' of the whole portrait on June 18, the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.
It is the first time that the NPG has displayed its largest portrait, a print showing the entire funeral procession of the Duke of Wellington.
Just think, it is the length of two London buses or 67 Wellington boots laid end to end and it has been in the archive since 1911.
Eight panels will be fully visible in the exhibition in a specially made display case housing the entire work. The gallery will display the print throughout the length of the Victorian Galleries in a free one-hour event on Thursday 18 June, to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo. This will be the first time the panorama will have been seen at full length at the Gallery.
Highlights of the work include depictions of the grand and ornate funeral cortege, the Lord Mayor’s carriage, members of the royal family, platoons of soldiers, and, by contrast, the simple but moving image of Wellington’s horse being led in the procession with his master’s empty boots reversed in the stirrups.
While other versions are in existence, many have been divided and framed in shorter lengths. The gallery’s version is still in its complete original form and in good condition.
After Wellington died in September 1852, his body was laid in state at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea before a grand state funeral. The procession to St Paul’s Cathedral was watched by a crowd estimated at one and a half million people. Other than for monarchs, with the possible exception of that given for Sir Winston Churchill, there has not since been a state funeral on a comparable scale.
George Augustus Sala’s panorama was one of many souvenirs produced to commemorate the event. By this time, the controversies of Wellington’s political career were 20 years' past and feelings had softened. Furthermore, his death felt like the passing of an age.
Wellington: Triumphs, Politics and Passions explores not only the political and military career of the victor of this great battle - but also his personal life through portraits of his family and friends.
Drawn from museums and private collections including that of the present Duke of Wellington, the exhibition of 59 portraits and other art works includes rarely-seen loans from the family including a portrait by John Hoppner of the Duke as a youthful soldier and a daguerreotype portrait by Antoine Claudet, in the new medium of photography, taken on Wellington’s 75th birthday in 1844. The family has also loaned Thomas Lawrence’s beautiful drawing of Wellington’s wife, Kitty.
Wellington’s eventful and often difficult political career is illustrated by examples of the many satirical prints published in the 1820s and 1830s and the exhibition also examines the reappraisal of Wellington’s life that took place at his death and on the occasion of his lavish state funeral.
The exhibition is part of the Battle of Waterloo 200th Anniversary Commemorations waterloo200.org
BATTLE OF WATERLOO SPECIAL EVENT: 10-11am Thursday, June 18
The display of the entire Panoramic View of the Entire Funeral Procession of Arthur, Duke of Wellington, Victorian Galleries, National Portrait Gallery, Admission free
Details at npg.org.uk Admission free
Spring Season 2015 sponsored by Herbert Smith Freehills Press View: 11 March 2015, 10am-1pm (tour 10.30am).
THE PORTRAIT: Panoramic View of the Entire Funeral Procession of Arthur, Duke of Wellington
by Samuel Henry Gordon Alken and George Augustus Sala; published by George Ackermann & Co; Hand-coloured etching and aquatint, 1853 © National Portrait Gallery, London
IMAGE CAPTION: Panoramic View of the Entire Funeral Procession of Arthur, Duke of Wellington
by Samuel Henry Gordon Alken and George Augustus Sala, 1853 © National Portrait Gallery, London
PUBLICATION
The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully-illustrated book by Paul Cox with a foreword by William Hague and will be available to purchase from the National Portrait Gallery bookshop priced £15.
National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place WC2H 0HE, opening hours Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday: 10am – 6pm (Gallery closure commences at 5.50pm) Late Opening: Thursday, Friday: 10am – 9pm (Gallery closure commences at 8.50pm) Nearest Underground: Leicester Square/Charing Cross General information: 0207 306 0055Recorded information: 020 7312 2463 Website npg.org.uk
100 years on, World War One resonates with so many of us because we still have some connection - grandparents or great grandparents who went to war or were involved in the war effort. The Battle of Waterloo, 200 years is so distant that fewer people really know the story.
All credit to the National Portrait Gallery for putting on a free exhibition so visitors can learn more about the battle and the Duke of Wellington.
The curators have been working to catch the public imagination and on show is the NPG's longest portrait, the 67ft view of the Duke of Wellington's funeral goes on display tomorrow (Thursday, March 12).
It really is an exquisite showstopper. Wellington: Triumphs, Politics and Passions, sponsored by Herbert Smith Freehills will run until June 7 but there will be a special 'unrolling' of the whole portrait on June 18, the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.
It is the first time that the NPG has displayed its largest portrait, a print showing the entire funeral procession of the Duke of Wellington.
Just think, it is the length of two London buses or 67 Wellington boots laid end to end and it has been in the archive since 1911.
Eight panels will be fully visible in the exhibition in a specially made display case housing the entire work. The gallery will display the print throughout the length of the Victorian Galleries in a free one-hour event on Thursday 18 June, to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo. This will be the first time the panorama will have been seen at full length at the Gallery.
Highlights of the work include depictions of the grand and ornate funeral cortege, the Lord Mayor’s carriage, members of the royal family, platoons of soldiers, and, by contrast, the simple but moving image of Wellington’s horse being led in the procession with his master’s empty boots reversed in the stirrups.
While other versions are in existence, many have been divided and framed in shorter lengths. The gallery’s version is still in its complete original form and in good condition.
After Wellington died in September 1852, his body was laid in state at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea before a grand state funeral. The procession to St Paul’s Cathedral was watched by a crowd estimated at one and a half million people. Other than for monarchs, with the possible exception of that given for Sir Winston Churchill, there has not since been a state funeral on a comparable scale.
George Augustus Sala’s panorama was one of many souvenirs produced to commemorate the event. By this time, the controversies of Wellington’s political career were 20 years' past and feelings had softened. Furthermore, his death felt like the passing of an age.
Wellington: Triumphs, Politics and Passions explores not only the political and military career of the victor of this great battle - but also his personal life through portraits of his family and friends.
Drawn from museums and private collections including that of the present Duke of Wellington, the exhibition of 59 portraits and other art works includes rarely-seen loans from the family including a portrait by John Hoppner of the Duke as a youthful soldier and a daguerreotype portrait by Antoine Claudet, in the new medium of photography, taken on Wellington’s 75th birthday in 1844. The family has also loaned Thomas Lawrence’s beautiful drawing of Wellington’s wife, Kitty.
Wellington’s eventful and often difficult political career is illustrated by examples of the many satirical prints published in the 1820s and 1830s and the exhibition also examines the reappraisal of Wellington’s life that took place at his death and on the occasion of his lavish state funeral.
The exhibition is part of the Battle of Waterloo 200th Anniversary Commemorations waterloo200.org
BATTLE OF WATERLOO SPECIAL EVENT: 10-11am Thursday, June 18
The display of the entire Panoramic View of the Entire Funeral Procession of Arthur, Duke of Wellington, Victorian Galleries, National Portrait Gallery, Admission free
Details at npg.org.uk Admission free
Spring Season 2015 sponsored by Herbert Smith Freehills Press View: 11 March 2015, 10am-1pm (tour 10.30am).
THE PORTRAIT: Panoramic View of the Entire Funeral Procession of Arthur, Duke of Wellington
by Samuel Henry Gordon Alken and George Augustus Sala; published by George Ackermann & Co; Hand-coloured etching and aquatint, 1853 © National Portrait Gallery, London
IMAGE CAPTION: Panoramic View of the Entire Funeral Procession of Arthur, Duke of Wellington
by Samuel Henry Gordon Alken and George Augustus Sala, 1853 © National Portrait Gallery, London
PUBLICATION
The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully-illustrated book by Paul Cox with a foreword by William Hague and will be available to purchase from the National Portrait Gallery bookshop priced £15.
National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place WC2H 0HE, opening hours Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday: 10am – 6pm (Gallery closure commences at 5.50pm) Late Opening: Thursday, Friday: 10am – 9pm (Gallery closure commences at 8.50pm) Nearest Underground: Leicester Square/Charing Cross General information: 0207 306 0055Recorded information: 020 7312 2463 Website npg.org.uk
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