Charles Darwin
- Artist: John Collier
- Date: 1883
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 49 1/2 in. x 38 in. (1257 mm x 965 mm)
- Portrays: Charles Robert Darwin
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
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About this artwork
In this oil portrait, Charles Darwin is shown standing face‑to‑face with the viewer, his gaze steady and calm. Notice the loose woolen cloak that drapes over his shoulders, a familiar look from his daily walks at Down House. In one hand he holds his characteristic slouch hat, hinting at his relaxed, country lifestyle.
The painting was made in 1883 by John Collier as a copy of a work first painted for the Linnean Society in 1881. Collier himself had ties to Victorian science; he was son‑in‑law of Thomas Huxley, a supporter of Darwin’s ideas. In 1896, Darwin’s eldest son, William Erasmus, presented this version to the Gallery, noting that it improved on the original likeness.
Observers who knew the naturalist felt the portrait captured his essence best—his familiar cloak and hat giving the work an authentic, almost living quality. The canvas records Darwin in the year before his death, a quiet testament to the scientist’s enduring influence.
See it in person
Charles Darwin is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
