Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830-1903), Prime Minister

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Whitehall

Two caricatures of the Marquess of Salisbury appeared in 'Vanity Fair' more than 30 years apart. The first, by Carlo Pellegrini (Ape), was included in the July 1869 edition and showed the former Secretary of State for India in profile, looking rake-thin and with a considerable stoop. This second caricature, of December 1900, by Leslie Ward (Spy), shows Salisbury as Prime Minister, just after he gave up his additional position as Foreign Secretary. The accompanying text gave a mixed assessment of the leader:

'His virtues, indeed, are very many; and his chief fault (in these democratic days) is his capacity for ignoring the views of that person who has come to be known as the Man in the Street.'

Leslie Ward was born into a family of painters. His mother and father were historical genre painters Edward Matthew Ward and Henrietta Ward. He was educated at Eton and then entered the studio of architect Sydney Smirke. However, he abandoned his architectural training to become apprenticed to W. P. Frith. In 1873 J. E. Millais sent some of his drawings to Thomas Gibson Bowles, founder and owner of ‘Vanity Fair’. Bowles immediately hired Ward, whose first ‘Vanity Fair’ caricature appeared in 1873 under the ‘nom de crayon’ Spy. Ward also painted portraits and made architectural drawings, exhibiting his work at the Royal Academy and Grosvenor Gallery. He was knighted in 1918. Ward died in 1922 and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, London.

People

Robert Arthur Talbot, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury Gascoyne-Cecil (1830 - 1903)

Places

Subjects

male portrait, 19th century costume, Marquess, Prime Minister

Materials & Techniques

lithograph, colour lithograph

Artist

Sir Leslie Matthew ("Spy") Ward (1851 - 1922)

Title

Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830-1903), Prime Minister

Date

published 20 December 1900

Medium

Colour lithograph

Dimensions

height: 39.10 cm, width: 26.70 cm

Acquisition

acquired by Foreign & Commonwealth Office, London, at unknown date

Inscription

in plate, bl: Spy ; below image: Marquess of Salisbury / 1878-1880, 1885-1886, / 1887-1892, 1895-1900.

Provenance

acquired by Foreign & Commonwealth Office, London

GAC number

18367