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Sketch of Chartist Richard Marsden: 901(2)a

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An image of Drawing
An image of Drawing
Current Location: In storage

Titles

Sketch of Chartist Richard Marsden

Maker(s)

Draughtsman: Alais, William Wolfe

Entities

Categories

Description

One of a group of 9 sketches by William Wolfe Alais, each depicting members of the Chartist movement, 8 of whom are named in pencil inscriptions.

This portrait was previously titled 'Sketch of Chartist Prisoner, taken in Court: Richard Marsden,' on the basis of a handwritten note made by the collector Charles Fairfax Murray when he donated the sketches to the Fitzwilliam Museum in 1917. The note identifies the group of drawings as '9 Original Pencil Sketches by W. W. Alais taken in court at the trial of the Chartist prisoners.' However, it is likely that the drawings were actually made at the first Chartist Convention ('The General Convention of the Industrious Classes,' London, 4 February, 1839), as the 8 names inscribed on Alais' drawings can be identified as delegates at the convention. No trial at which all 8 of the named men appeared has yet been identified.

Measurements and weight

Height: 111 mm
Width: 88 mm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1917) by Murray, Charles Fairfax

School or Style

British

Materials used in production

Graphite

Components of the work

Support composed of paper ( laid down)

Techniques used in production

Drawing (image-making) : Graphite on paper, laid down

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: Richard Marsden
  • Location: Below
  • Method of creation: Graphite
  • Text: 5
  • Location: Upper right
  • Method of creation: Graphite

Identification numbers

Accession number: 901(2)a
Primary reference Number: 8556

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 24 November 2025

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Paintings, Drawings and Prints

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Sketch of Chartist Richard Marsden" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/8556 Accessed: 2025-12-05 06:18:58

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/8556 |title=Sketch of Chartist Richard Marsden |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 06:18:58|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-8556

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<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/pdp/pdp67/901_282_29a_CE.jpg"
        alt="Sketch of Chartist Richard Marsden"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Sketch of Chartist Richard Marsden</figcaption>
    </figure>
</div>

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