John McLure Hamilton “Portrait of Gladstone” Lithograph


John McLure Hamilton (1853—1936) was an Anglo-American artist. He was born in Philadelphia and began his art education at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, under Thomas Eakins. Later he travelled to Europe and continued his education at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris and at the Royal Academy in Belgium. Hamilton was noted for portraits, figure paintings and illustrations. While maintaining a permanent address in Philadelphia, he lived in England for fifty-eight years where he was official portrait painter to William Gladstone, prime minister of the United Kingdom.

In addition to Gladstone, Hamilton painted portraits of many English notables including Cardinal Manning, George Meredith and Richard Vaux. He was the author of a book Men I have Painted. In the book he writes of himself thus,

“As I grow older the advantage of having been born an American of British and French blood becomes daily more ideal. I now know that I have escaped the insulating influences and the national prejudices of all three countries, and have retained only their qualities — mainly good.”

In a review of the book, which reveals fascinating insights into some famous personalities of the time, the New York Times wrote, “…his chats about his sitters are delightfully without pretense…if his portrait turns out a bad one, he mentions it.”

John McLure Hamilton “Portrait of Gladstone” Lithograph Colored Lithograph on colored paper, measuring 7.75 by 12 inches, image signed and in good condition. Published in London, 1915.

Art (paintings, prints, frames)