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Samuel Butler

Image credit: National Portrait Gallery, London

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The late nineteenth century saw the emergence of autobiographical forms that challenged conventions. One of the most significant being Samuel Butler's fictionalised autobiography The Way of All Flesh (1902), an incredibly potent satire of nineteenth-century family values. Butler turned to Darwin's evolutionary theory to interpret his fictional younger self, Ernest Pontifex, and the conflict between father and son. Described as 'one of the great time-bombs of literature', the book remained unpublished for twenty years for fear it would outrage Bulter's family and the Victorian reading public.

National Portrait Gallery, London

London

Title

Samuel Butler

Date

1896

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 68.6 x W 52.1 cm

Accession number

1599

Acquisition method

Given by Charles Gogin, 1911

Work type

Painting

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National Portrait Gallery, London

St Martin’s Place, London, Greater London WC2H 0HE England

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