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£190

Presentation: Unmounted
Lithographic reproduction of a hand-coloured woodcut
15 x 16-1//2 inches. (38 x 42 cm).
Published by William Heinemann, March 1903

Provenance: The William Heinemann Archive, 2004

A 'New Portrait of Joseph Chamberlain', mounted ready for framing and costing 2s 6d, was advertised in March 1903 - presumably to coincide with the sitter's promotion to the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer. Although advertised as new, this may be the portrait of Chamberlain published in November 1902 as part of the second series of Twelve Portraits, However, this cannot be stated with certainty, and so the work is listed separately at this point.

In a letter to J. L. Garvin of 24 January 1905, Nicholson states that Chamberlain did not give him a sitting. Nicholson adds that he would be able to do Chamberlain more justice in some future portrait if he sat still, and if he [Nicholson] could 'study him also when he didn't know - at a dinner or something of the kind'.

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£170

Presentation: Mounted
Chromolithograph after the original woodcut  
10 3/4 x 10 in. (27.7 x 25.6 cm).
Inscribed on the stone, upper left, 'William Nicholson' and beneath, 'Lord Roberts'
Published by William Heinemann, March 1903

Provenance: The William Heinemann Archive 2004


The Twelve Portraits series was published in September 1899 in two editions: a portfolio of hand-coloured woodcuts and a portfolio of lithographic reproductions mounted ready for framing. The majority of the prints had initially been conceived as individual works, and it was expedience alone that brought them together in a set; but the series in its published form is not without homogeneity. Certainly it fulfilled its aim of portraying a representative selection of the most notable men and women of the day. `A few years hence,' claimed a reviewer in the 9 December 1899 issue of Literature, `Mr Nicholson's portfolio of Twelve Portraits ... will be of undoubted historical value.' Perhaps this was going too far, but mans- critics believed that Twelve Portraits contained Nicholson's best work, and indeed it was this series that was to earn the artist a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900.

Early in 1901 a second series of 12 portraits was proposed. Heinemann sent Nicholson a list of suggested sitters in July, but work on the project proceeded very slowly and it was not until the summer of 1902 that the portraits were finally delivered. Nicholson, always ready to re-use existing material, commandeered his Lord Kitchener (1898) and William 11 (1899) for this series (the latter was published in a slightly revised form), and also made use of studies of Thomas Edison, Theodore Roosevelt and Mark Twain made in New York in the autumn of 1900. The remaining seven portraits were conceived and executed in 1901/2: Queen Alexandra, Joseph Chamberlain (Colonial Secretary at the time of the Boer War), Li-Hung Chang (the Chinese statesman), Henrik Ibsen (whose plays Heinemann published in English translations), Sada Yacco (the Japanese actress who modelled for Rodin), Eleonora Dose (the great Italian tragedienne), and Pope Leo XIII.
 

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£170

Presentation: Unmounted
Lithographic reproduction of a coloured drawing
11-3/4 x 9 3/4 inches. (30 x 25 cm).
1091 (early January)
Signed and dated (lower right) 'W N. 1900' and inscribed (outside the border, lower right) 'By William Nicholson'.

Provenance: The William Heinemann Archive, 2004

Heinemann paid Nicholson thirty guineas for the copyright in December 1900, and the print was advertised at the beginning of January 1901. It was offered as 'a new portrait of Field-Marshal Earl Roberts, K.G.' costing five shillings.

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£220

Presentation: Unmounted
Lithographic reproduction of a hand-coloured woodcut
Published by William Heinemann, September 1901
Signed with initials and dated 1900, within the plate, titled in the margin
10 x 9 in. (25.5 x 23 cm.) plate size;  21 5/8 x 15 in (55 x 38 cm.) overall

Provenance: acquired directly from the William Heinemann archive in 2002.

This woodcut was originally made in 1900, the year Nicholson was awarded a gold medal for his woodcuts at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. 

Early in 1900 - presumably in response to an invitation - Nicholson had sent a woodcut of the American president, William McKinley, to Harper & Brothers in New York; and the print had been published on the cover of the 30 June issue of Harper's Weekly at the time of McKinley's renomination. `It may lack some of that easy and decorative breadth which we are accustomed to look for in Mr Nicholson's original prints,' said a writer in the December 1901 issue of the Studio, `but if the hands are weak, or fidgety in treatment, the face has the right significance, being full of that inner weight of ease which the ill-starred President felt always under the burden of his high office.' On the strength of this woodcut, and also the Twelve Portraits series (which had made the artist's name widely known in America), Nicholson was invited to the States to make some more portraits for the magazine - this time from life.
On his arrival in New York, Nicholson went round to Franklin Square, where he discovered that it was presidential election year and Harper's wanted portraits of political figures. He was disappointed, for he had little interest in politicians - especially American ones - and he suggested a compromise: he would draw portraits of people like Governor Roosevelt and Boss Croker of Tammany Hall; but he would also depict celebrities from other spheres, in particular men from the worlds of art and science. Harper's agreed to this, and publicized the artist's arrival in the pages of their magazine. Nicholson, it was announced, would be in the States for about three months to `study the lineaments of a selected number of distinguished Americans'. Harper's added that the visit was an historic one. Normally, artists crossing the Atlantic were Americans travelling to Europe; Nicholson, claimed Harper's, was the first artist of any note to travel in the opposite direction.

McKinley was shot by an anarchist on 6 September 1901, and he died on 14 September. Heinemann responded to this event by publishing a lithographic reproduction of Nicholson's woodcut portrait of the President. This lithographic version was advertised at 2s 6d in the 21 September 1901 issue of the Outlook.

(William Nicholson, The Graphic Work, by Colin Campbell (Barrie & Jenkins Ltd 1992, pp 100 and 198)

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£170

Presentation: Unmounted
Chromolithograph after the original  woodcut  
10 7/8 x 10 in. (27.7 x 25.6 cm).
Inscribed on the stone, upper left, 'William Nicholson' and beneath, 'The Archbishop of Canterbury'

Frederick Temple (1821-1902), was a controversial English divine whose appointment by Gladstone as Bishop of Exeter in 1869 raised a clerical storm. In 1885 he was translated to London and in 1896, at the age of seventy-six, he accepted the see of Canterbury.
Dr Temple appeared as No 5 in Nicholson's first series of Twelve Portraits, published by William Heinemann in 1899.

The Twelve Portraits series was published in September 1899 in two editions: a portfolio of hand-coloured woodcuts and a portfolio of lithographic reproductions mounted ready for framing. The majority of the prints had initially been conceived as individual works, and it was expedience alone that brought them together in a set; but the series in its published form is not without homogeneity. Certainly it fulfilled its aim of portraying a representative selection of the most notable men and women of the day. `A few years hence,' claimed a reviewer in the 9 December 1899 issue of Literature, `Mr Nicholson's portfolio of Twelve Portraits ... will be of undoubted historical value.' Perhaps this was going too far, but mans- critics believed that Twelve Portraits contained Nicholson's best work, and indeed it was this series that was to earn the artist a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900. 

Early in 1901 a second series of 12 portraits was proposed. Heinemann sent Nicholson a list of suggested sitters in July, but work on the project proceeded very slowly and it was not until the summer of 1902 that the portraits were finally delivered. Nicholson, always ready to re-use existing material, commandeered his Lord Kitchener (1898) and William 11 (1899) for this series (the latter was published in a slightly revised form), and also made use of studies of Thomas Edison, Theodore Roosevelt and Mark Twain made in New York in the autumn of 1900. The remaining seven portraits were conceived and executed in 1901/2: Queen Alexandra [104], Joseph Chamberlain (Colonial Secretary at the time of the Boer War), Li-Hung Chang (the Chinese statesman), Henrik Ibsen (whose plays Heinemann published in English translations), Sada Yacco (the Japanese actress who modelled for Rodin), Eleonora Dose (the great Italian tragedienne), and Pope Leo XIII.

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£180

Presentation: Unmounted
Chromolithograph after the original  woodcut  
10 7/8 x 10 in. (27.7 x 25,6 cm).
Inscribed on the stone, upper left, 'William Nicholson' and beneath, 'Henrik Ibsen'

The Twelve Portraits series was published in September 1899 in two editions: a portfolio of hand-coloured woodcuts and a portfolio of lithographic reproductions mounted ready for framing. The majority of the prints had initially been conceived as individual works, and it was expedience alone that brought them together in a set; but the series in its published form is not without homogeneity. Certainly it fulfilled its aim of portraying a representative selection of the most notable men and women of the day. `A few years hence,' claimed a reviewer in the 9 December 1899 issue of Literature, `Mr Nicholson's portfolio of Twelve Portraits ... will be of undoubted historical value.' Perhaps this was going too far, but mans- critics believed that Twelve Portraits contained Nicholson's best work, and indeed it was this series that was to earn the artist a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900. 

Early in 1901 a second series of 12 portraits was proposed. Heinemann sent Nicholson a list of suggested sitters in July, but work on the project proceeded very slowly and it was not until the summer of 1902 that the portraits were finally delivered. Nicholson, always ready to re-use existing material, commandeered his Lord Kitchener (1898) and William 11 (1899) for this series (the latter was published in a slightly revised form), and also made use of studies of Thomas Edison, Theodore Roosevelt and Mark Twain made in New York in the autumn of 1900. The remaining seven portraits were conceived and executed in 1901/2: Queen Alexandra [104], Joseph Chamberlain (Colonial Secretary at the time of the Boer War), Li-Hung Chang (the Chinese statesman), Henrik Ibsen (whose plays Heinemann published in English translations), Sada Yacco (the Japanese actress who modelled for Rodin), Eleonora Dose (the great Italian tragedienne), and Pope Leo XIII.

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£300

Presentation: Unmounted
Lithographic reproduction of a hand-coloured woodcut
10 x 9-1/8 inches. (25.4 x 23.2 cm).
Published by William Heinemann 1899 (September)

Provenance: The William Heinemann Archive 2004

When Nicholson offered his jubilee portrait of Queen Victoria to William Heinemann, the publisher demurred. His partner Sidney Pawling then showed it to W. E. Henley, the editor of The New Review, who promptly seized it for publication. It appeared in 1897 . as a double-page supplement and was immediately successful. After the collapse of The New Review it was re-issued by Heinemann as no. 1 in the first series of Twelve Portraits, 1899. Nicholson's image of the Queen as 'an animated tea-cosy' became one of the lasting impressions of the final years of her reign. The compliment he cherished most was the one he received from Whistler at their first meeting.

Appropriately enough, it took place at the house of William Heinemann at Thames Ditton, When Whistler described Queen Victoria as 'A wonderful portrait, Mr Nicholson', the young artist could only reply that she was a wonderful subject. Whistler's rejoinder could not have meant more; 'You know, Her Majesty might say the same of you.'
Lent by the Fitzwllliam Museum, Cambridge.

The Twelve Portraits series was published in September 1899 in two editions: a portfolio of hand-coloured woodcuts and a portfolio of lithographic reproductions mounted ready for framing. The majority of the prints had initially been conceived as individual works, and it was expedience alone that brought them together in a set; but the series in its published form is not without homogeneity. Certainly it fulfilled its aim of portraying a representative selection of the most notable men and women of the day. `A few years hence,' claimed a reviewer in the 9 December 1899 issue of Literature, `Mr Nicholson's portfolio of Twelve Portraits ... will be of undoubted historical value.' Perhaps this was going too far, but mans- critics believed that Twelve Portraits contained Nicholson's best work, and indeed it was this series that was to earn the artist a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900.

Early in 1901 a second series of 12 portraits was proposed. Heinemann sent Nicholson a list of suggested sitters in July, but work on the project proceeded very slowly and it was not until the summer of 1902 that the portraits were finally delivered. Nicholson, always ready to re-use existing material, commandeered his Lord Kitchener (1898) and William 11 (1899) for this series (the latter was published in a slightly revised form), and also made use of studies of Thomas Edison, Theodore Roosevelt and Mark Twain made in New York in the autumn of 1900. The remaining seven portraits were conceived and executed in 1901/2: Queen Alexandra , Joseph Chamberlain (Colonial Secretary at the time of the Boer War), Li-Hung Chang (the Chinese statesman), Henrik Ibsen (whose plays Heinemann published in English translations), Sada Yacco (the Japanese actress who modelled for Rodin), Eleonora Dose (the great Italian tragedienne), and Pope Leo XIII.

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£170

Presentation: Unmounted
Lithographic reproduction of a hand-coloured woodcut
10 x 9-1/8 inches. (25.4 x 23.2 cm).
Published by William Heinemann 1899 (September)

Provenance: The William Heinemann Archive 2004

The Twelve Portraits series was published in September 1899 in two editions: a portfolio of hand-coloured woodcuts and a portfolio of lithographic reproductions mounted ready for framing. The majority of the prints had initially been conceived as individual works, and it was expedience alone that brought them together in a set; but the series in its published form is not without homogeneity. Certainly it fulfilled its aim of portraying a representative selection of the most notable men and women of the day. `A few years hence,' claimed a reviewer in the 9 December 1899 issue of Literature, `Mr Nicholson's portfolio of Twelve Portraits ... will be of undoubted historical value.' Perhaps this was going too far, but mans- critics believed that Twelve Portraits contained Nicholson's best work, and indeed it was this series that was to earn the artist a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900.

Early in 1901 a second series of 12 portraits was proposed. Heinemann sent Nicholson a list of suggested sitters in July, but work on the project proceeded very slowly and it was not until the summer of 1902 that the portraits were finally delivered. Nicholson, always ready to re-use existing material, commandeered his Lord Kitchener (1898) and William 11 (1899) for this series (the latter was published in a slightly revised form), and also made use of studies of Thomas Edison, Theodore Roosevelt and Mark Twain made in New York in the autumn of 1900. The remaining seven portraits were conceived and executed in 1901/2: Queen Alexandra [104], Joseph Chamberlain (Colonial Secretary at the time of the Boer War), Li-Hung Chang (the Chinese statesman), Henrik Ibsen (whose plays Heinemann published in English translations), Sada Yacco (the Japanese actress who modelled for Rodin) [20], E/eonora Dose (the great Italian tragedienne), and Pope Leo XIII.

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£300

Presentation: Mounted
Lithographic reproduction of a hand-coloured woodcut 10 x 9-1/8 inches. (25.4 x 23 cm.)
Published by William Heinemann 1899 (September).


Provenance: The William Heinemann Archive 2004

The seven portraits published in the New Review had been on sale since 1897 in the form of individual lithographic reproductions of the original hand-coloured woodcuts. In 1899, the portraits commissioned to make up the Twelve Portraits set (the Prince of Wales,  W, E. Gladstone, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Sir Henry Hawkins and Sir Henry Irving) were also offered for sale in this form. An advertisement in the 14 December 1901 issue of the Athenaeum reveals that these lithographic reproductions were sold at 2s 6d each (see 'Mr Heinemann's Christmas List').

The Twelve Portraits series was published in September 1899 in two editions: a portfolio of hand-coloured woodcuts and a portfolio of lithographic reproductions mounted ready for framing. The majority of the prints had initially been conceived as individual works, and it was expedience alone that brought them together in a set; but the series in its published form is not without homogeneity. Certainly it fulfilled its aim of portraying a representative selection of the most notable men and women of the day. `A few years hence,' claimed a reviewer in the 9 December 1899 issue of Literature, `Mr Nicholson's portfolio of Twelve Portraits ... will be of undoubted historical value.' Perhaps this was going too far, but mans- critics believed that Twelve Portraits contained Nicholson's best work, and indeed it was this series that was to earn the artist a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900.

Early in 1901 a second series of 12 portraits was proposed. Heinemann sent Nicholson a list of suggested sitters in July, but work on the project proceeded very slowly and it was not until the summer of 1902 that the portraits were finally delivered. Nicholson, always ready to re-use existing material, commandeered his Lord Kitchener (1898) and William 11 (1899) for this series (the latter was published in a slightly revised form), and also made use of studies of Thomas Edison, Theodore Roosevelt and Mark Twain made in New York in the autumn of 1900. The remaining seven portraits were conceived and executed in 1901/2: Queen Alexandra [104], Joseph Chamberlain (Colonial Secretary at the time of the Boer War), Li-Hung Chang (the Chinese statesman), Henrik Ibsen (whose plays Heinemann published in English translations), Sada Yacco (the Japanese actress who modelled for Rodin) [20], E/eonora Dose (the great Italian tragedienne), and Pope Leo XIII.

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£220

Presentation: Unmounted
Lithographic reproduction of a hand-coloured woodcut 10 x 9-1/8 inches. (25.4 x 23 cm.)
Published by William Heinemann 1899 (September)
Inscribed on the stone, upper left 'William Nicholson' and beneath, 'Li Hung Chang'

Li Hung Chang

The Twelve Portraits series was published in September 1899 in two editions: a portfolio of hand-coloured woodcuts and a portfolio of lithographic reproductions mounted ready for framing. The majority of the prints had initially been conceived as individual works, and it was expedience alone that brought them together in a set; but the series in its published form is not without homogeneity. Certainly it fulfilled its aim of portraying a representative selection of the most notable men and women of the day. `A few years hence,' claimed a reviewer in the 9 December 1899 issue of Literature, `Mr Nicholson's portfolio of Twelve Portraits ... will be of undoubted historical value.' Perhaps this was going too far, but mans- critics believed that Twelve Portraits contained Nicholson's best work, and indeed it was this series that was to earn the artist a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900.

Hongzhang, Marquis Suyi of the First Class, GCVO, (February 15, 1823 – November 7, 1901) was a Chinese general who ended several major rebellions, and a leading statesman of the late Qing Empire. He served in important positions of the Imperial Court, once holding the office of the Viceroy of Zhili. He was best known in the west for his diplomatic negotiation skills. Since 1894 First Sino-Japanese War, Li had become a literary symbol for China's embarrassments in the late Qing Dynasty. His image in China remains largely controversial, with most criticizing his lack of political insight and his failure to win a single external military campaign against foreign powers, but praising his role as a pioneer of industrial and military modernization in Late Qing, his diplomatic skills and his internal military campaigns against the Taiping Rebellion. Early in 1901 a second series of 12 portraits was proposed. Heinemann sent Nicholson a list of suggested sitters in July, but work on the project proceeded very slowly and it was not until the summer of 1902 that the portraits were finally delivered. Nicholson, always ready to re-use existing material, commandeered his Lord Kitchener (1898) and William 11 (1899) for this series (the latter was published in a slightly revised form), and also made use of studies of Thomas Edison, Theodore Roosevelt and Mark Twain made in New York in the autumn of 1900. The remaining seven portraits were conceived and executed in 1901/2: Queen Alexandra , Joseph Chamberlain (Colonial Secretary at the time of the Boer War), Li-Hung Chang (the Chinese statesman), Henrik Ibsen (whose plays Heinemann published in English translations), Sada Yacco (the Japanese actress who modelled for Rodin), Eleonora Dose (the great Italian tragedienne), and Pope Leo XIII.

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£170

Presentation: Unmounted
Chromolithographs  after the original woodcuts, from the popular edition, circa 1898
Each 9-7/8 x 7-7/8 in. (25 x 20 cm.)

Three editions of Nicholson's celebrated Alphabet were published in October 1897 - a De luxe edition (of around 50) printed directly from the woodblocks and coloured by hand; a Library edition of lithographic reproductions printed on laid paper; a popular edition of lithographic reproductions printed on cartrigde paper.  The first impression of the Popular edition was out of print by 1 January 1898.

William Nicholson was born in 1872, the same year as Aubrey Beardsley. Though completely different in style and technique, each revolutionized the course of graphic art in the nineties. Nicholson and his brother-in-law, James Pryde-as the Beggarstaff Brothers-developed a new form of poster art which combined masses of three or four colors around a central silhouette. These vigorous forms are in marked contrast to the tedious line work, which was then characteristic of the Victorian period. Through a recommendation by James McNeill Whistler, Nicholson began to illustrate for the publisher William Heinemann. Between 1897 and 1900 he illustrated five works: An Alphabet, An Almanac of Twelve Sports, Twelve Portraits, London Types, and The Square Book of Animals. In addition, he designed Heinemann's enduring windmill colophon. An Alphabet, the first book to appear, contains 26 portraits. A self-portrait appears as the first plate, followed by a portrait of James Pryde. Nicholson cut the illustrations himself on woodblocks. A small part of the edition was printed from the actual woodblocks, which he then colored by hand. Most of the edition consists of color lithographs after the woodcuts. In An Alphabet and the subsequent works, Nicholson has refined the original Beggarstaff concept. The backgrounds are now composed of earth tones and black. In contrast to these muted masses is a most purposefully restrained use of color. While other artists of the Art Nouveau period were producing veritable color charts, Nicholson demonstrated that less is more. William Nicholson made his impact on the development of graphic art in the twentieth century before his thirtieth birthday. Later he turned to painting and stage design. He was knighted in 1936 and died in 1949. His eldest son is the artist Ben Nicholson.

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£170

Presentation: Unmounted
Lithographic reproduction of a hand-coloured woodcut 10 x 9-1/8 inches. (25.4 x 23 cm.)
Published by William Heinemann
1900 (February)

This portrait may have been engraved in 1898, at the time of Kitchener's Sudan campaign. However, it does not seem to have been offered for sale until February 1900. Thirty or more impressions were taken from the block on which the portrait was engraved, and these were mounted on card and signed and dated 'William Nicholson 1900'. Advertisements for these hand-coloured woodcuts have not yet been traced, but the cuts were probably offered to members of the public at the same time as the lithographic reproductions (i.e., in February 1900).
The Lord Kitchener was reissued in Twelve Portraits (second series) in 1902.
An impression was shown at the Company of the Butterfly exhibition in November 1900 (no. 94).

Lithographic reproduction of a hand-coloured woodcut
Published by William Heinemann 1900 (February)

Lithographic reproductions of the Lord Kitchener cut, mounted on card, were advertised in the 24 February 1900 issue of the Athenaeum at 2s 6d each (6 shillings framed). The advertisement was repeated throughout March 1900.
The Lord Kitchener was reissued in Twelve Portraits (second series) in 1902.

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£220

Presentation: Unmounted
Chromolithograph after the original woodcut    10 3/8 x 9 3/4 in.
(26.4 x 24.8 cm.)
Inscribed on the stone, upper left 'William Nicholson' and beneath, 'Prince Bismarck'

Otto, Prince von Bismarck (1815-1898), as chancellor to the Emperor Wilhelm I, was the architect of a united Germany. The accession of Wilhelm II in 1888 spelt his political downfall. Nicholson's portrait of Bismarck appeared first as a supplement to the New Review in December 1897. It was subsequently re-issued as no. 3 in Twelve Portraits, first series, published by William Heinemann in 1899.

 
The Twelve Portraits series was published in September 1899 in two editions: a portfolio of hand-coloured woodcuts and a portfolio of lithographic reproductions mounted ready for framing. The majority of the prints had initially been conceived as individual works, and it was expedience alone that brought them together in a set; but the series in its published form is not without homogeneity. Certainly it fulfilled its aim of portraying a representative selection of the most notable men and women of the day. `A few years hence,' claimed a reviewer in the 9 December 1899 issue of Literature, `Mr Nicholson's portfolio of Twelve Portraits ... will be of undoubted historical value.' Perhaps this was going too far, but mans- critics believed that Twelve Portraits contained Nicholson's best work, and indeed it was this series that was to earn the artist a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900.

Early in 1901 a second series of 12 portraits was proposed. Heinemann sent Nicholson a list of suggested sitters in July, but work on the project proceeded very slowly and it was not until the summer of 1902 that the portraits were finally delivered. Nicholson, always ready to re-use existing material, commandeered his Lord Kitchener (1898) and William 11 (1899) for this series (the latter was published in a slightly revised form), and also made use of studies of Thomas Edison, Theodore Roosevelt and Mark Twain made in New York in the autumn of 1900. The remaining seven portraits were conceived and executed in 1901/2: Queen Alexandra [104], Joseph Chamberlain (Colonial Secretary at the time of the Boer War), Li-Hung Chang (the Chinese statesman), Henrik Ibsen (whose plays Heinemann published in English translations), Sada Yacco (the Japanese actress who modelled for Rodin) [20], E/eonora Dose (the great Italian tragedienne), and Pope Leo XIII.

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Presentation: Mounted
Chromolithograph after the original  woodcut  
10 7/8 x 10 in. (27.7 x 25,6 cm).
Inscribed on the stone, upper left, 'William Nicholson' and beneath, 'Sado Yacco'

Sada Yacco was the Japanese actress who modelled for Rodin and one of the characters selected for the second series of Twelve Portraits.
Heinemann sent Nicholson a list of suggested sitters in July 1901, but work on the project proceeded very slowly and it was not until the summer of 1902 that the portraits were finally delivered. Nicholson, always ready to re-use existing material, commandeered his Lord Kitchener (1898) and William 11 (1899) for this series (the latter was published in a slightly revised form), and also made use of studies of Thomas Edison, Theodore Roosevelt and Mark Twain made in New York in the autumn of 1900. The remaining seven portraits were conceived and executed in 1901/2: Queen Alexandra ,  Joseph Chamberlain (Colonial Secretary at the time of the Boer War), Li-Hung Chang (the Chinese statesman), Henrik Ibsen (whose plays Heinemann published in English translations), Sada Yacco (the Japanese actress who modelled for Rodin), Eleonora Dose (the great Italian tragedienne), and Pope Leo XIII.