(click image to enlarge)
SIGNED WITH MONOGRAM AND DATED 1885
INSCRIBED WITH TITLE AND PUBLICATION DETAILS ON ORIGINAL MOUNT
PENCIL
8 1/4 X 6 1/4 INCHES
PROVENANCE: MARY GREEN (NEE TENNIEL), THE ARTIST'S SISTER AND THENCE BY DESCENT
ILLUSTRATED: PUNCH, 21 NOVEMBER 1885, PAGE 247
EXHIBITED: 'THE LONG NINETEENTH CENTURY: TREASURES AND PLEASURES',
MARCH - APRIL 2014, NO 101
The death of General Charles Gordon (1833-1885) in Khartoum, Sudan in 1885 made Gladstone’s position as Prime Minister untenable, forcing his resignation. The Conservative Lord Salisbury (1830- 1903) took over the premiership, but because the electoral rolls had not yet been compiled, the general election was postponed until November. As a result, the Liberals still held the most seats in the House of Commons, with the balance of power held by the Irish Nationalists, led by Charles Parnell (1846-1891), who held 63 seats. Rumours circulated in the press that Gladstone had ‘converted’ to supporting Irish Home Rule, a move to win the support of the Irish Nationals in the House of Commons. Although the Liberals failed to win a majority in November 1885, Gladstone’s son, Herbert, confirmed his father’s support of Irish Home Rule in December 1885, in what the press dubbed ‘flying the Hawarden kite’ (so named after Hawarden Castle, Flintshire, the Gladstone family estate). On 27 January 1886, Irish voting defeated Lord Salisbury in the Commons and Gladstone returned to power.
Note by Alexander Beetles
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