Charles John Holmes was Director of the National Portrait Gallery, before moving next door to become the sixth Director of the National Gallery.
Holmes was born on 11 November 1868 in Preston. After pursuing his studies at Eton and Oxford, he moved into publishing while at the same time developing his skills as a painter and art historian.
In 1900 he began exhibiting his work with the New English Art Club and in 1903 he became the co-editor of 'The Burlington Magazine'. The following year he took up the position of Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford.
In 1909 Holmes became Director of the National Portrait Gallery, a position he held until August 1916 when he moved next door to become the Director of the National Gallery. Knighted in 1921, Holmes retired from the Gallery in December 1928 and continued to pursue his interest in writing and painting. He died in London on 7 December 1936.
Image above: Detail from Walter Stoneman, for James Russell & Sons, 'Sir Charles John Holmes', circa 1916. Bromide print, National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG Ax39189)
© By Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London, s001
