Abstract
THE Trustees of the British Museum have received by the bequest of Mr. Cyril B. Holman-Hunt, who died last year, the portrait of Sir Richard Owen, which was painted in 1881 by his father, the well-known artist, William Holman-Hunt, O.M. It has been hung on the east pier near the main entrance in the Central Hall of the Natural History Museum. The picture was in the possession of the artist's daughter, Mrs. Joseph, but she readily acceded to her brother's wishes as expressed in his will, and arranged for its transference from the Athenaeum, where it was temporarily on loan. In the picture, Owen is depicted in Hunter's gown seated in an armchair. The position in the Central Hall is far from suited to a glazed picture, but it is the best at present available in the building; the trustees have, however, undertaken to provide one more satisfactory whenever the public part of the Museum is extended. It is fitting that the portrait should find a place at South Kensington, because Owen was superintendent of the Natural History Departments of the British Museum from 1856 until 1884. He had therefore a great say in the planning of the new building and the allocation of space in it to the several departments, and was in control when the building was opened to the public, on April 18, 1881. Incorrectly but justifiably, he is usually known as the first director of the Museum. In addition to the distinction of the subject, the picture has considerable interest as a work of art, because the eminent artist seldom engaged in portraiture, and only about five examples of that side of his work are known.
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Portrait of Owen at the Natural History Museum. Nature 135, 577 (1935). https://doi.org/10.1038/135577a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/135577a0