Director of the Bank of England.
National Gallery Trustee (1892–1918).
Alfred de Rothschild
1842 - 1918
This person is the subject of ongoing research. We have started by researching their relationship to the enslavement of people.
Biographical notes
Summary of activity
Alfred de Rothschild was the son of Lionel Nathan de Rothschild (1808–1879), who was the son of Nathan Meyer de Rothschild (1777–1836) and Hannah Barent Cohen de Rothschild (1783-1850), and Charlotte von Rothschild. Aged 21 he joined the Rothschild Bank in London. From 1868 until 1889 he became director of the Bank of England.
Nathan Mayer de Rothschild arranged the £15 million government loan to finance the compensation process necessary to pass the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833. The money provided by Rothschild was used to pay owners compensation for their enslaved persons and the gilt issue was only fully redeemed in 2015 (‘Rothschild & Co’, Wikipedia [online], <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothschild_%26_Co> accessed 5 August 2021). Nathan Mayer de Rothschild’s executors were awarded part of the compensation for Mathews estate (Constitution Hill) in Antigua, which, on 22 July 1839, included 158 enslaved persons, on the basis of a mortgage. His brother James de Rothschild (1792–1868) was named as a claimant, but not as an awardee.
In his 20s Alfred de Rothschild began to collect art, particularly English and French art of the eighteenth century. On his father’s death in 1879 he inherited the estate at Halton in Buckinghamshire, and had Halton House, styled as a French château built, finished in 1883. In London he lived at 1 Seamore Place. Both his houses held his extensive art collections.
In 1892 he became a Trustee of the National Gallery.
The following paintings now in the National Gallery have a Rothschild family provenance: Adriaen van Ostade, The Interior of an Inn with Nine Peasants and a Hurdy-Gurdy Player (NG2540); Giuseppe Bazzani, Saint Anthony of Padua with the Infant Christ (NG3663); Anthony van Dyck, The Abbé Scaglia adoring the Virgin and Child (NG4889); Gabriel Metsu, A Young Woman seated drawing (NG5225), Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Two Men in Oriental Costume; Rinaldo turning in Shame from the Magic Shield; Seated Man, Woman with Jar and Boy; and Two Orientals seated under a Tree (NG6302–6305); and Titian, An Allegory of Prudence (NG6376).
Slavery connections
Like most firms with global operations in the 19th century, Rothschild had links to slavery, even though the firm was instrumental in abolishing it by providing a £15m gilt issue necessary to pass the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833. The money provided by Rothschild was used to pay owners of enslaved people compensation for them and the gilt issue was only fully redeemed in 2015 (‘Rothschild & Co’, Wikipedia [online], <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothschild_%26_Co> accessed 5 August 2021).
There are entries on LBS for Nathan Mayer Rothschild and Baron James de Rothschild (UCL Department of History, ‘Nathan Mayer Rothschild’, in UCL Department of History (ed.), Legacies of British Slave-ownership [online], London 2020, <https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146631430 and ‘Baron James de Rothschild’, <https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146631433> accessed 5 August 2021).
Abolition connections
No known connections with abolition.
National Gallery painting connections
Former owner: paintings now in the National Gallery with a Rothschild family provenance: NG2540, NG3663, NG4889, NG5225, NG6302–6305 and NG6376.
Bibliography
History of Parliament Trust (ed.), The History of Parliament: British Political, Social & Local History, London 1964-, https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/
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C. Matthew et al. (eds), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford 1992-, https://www.oxforddnb.com/
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J. Turner et al. (eds), Grove Art Online, Oxford 1998-, https://www.oxfordartonline.com/groveart/
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UCL Department of History (ed.), Legacies of British Slave-ownership, London 2020, https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/
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Item on publisher's website
Paintings previously owned by Alfred de Rothschild
(Showing 6 of 9 works)
This woman is engrossed in sketching a stone bust; hanging over the edge of the table is an engraving. Copying sculpture and images such as this was part of an artist’s training. In the background we can see an easel, as well as books, a globe and a classical arch and column, which evoke a wider...
Three male heads at different stages of life are paired with the heads of three animals: a wolf, a lion and a dog. The Latin inscription divided to correspond to the three heads translates as: ‘Learning from Yesterday, Today acts prudently lest by his action he spoil Tomorrow.’ The meaning and pu...
Not on display
This painting shows Rinaldo, a Christian knight who has been enchanted by the Saracen sorceress Armida. He turns away from his own reflection in a magic shield that has been given to him by one of his companions to break the spell. Rinaldo later gives up his love for Armida and escapes.The scene...
Saint Anthony of Padua, wearing the grey habit of the Franciscan Order to which he belonged, stands before the infant Christ. A white lily, Saint Anthony’s attribute, lies at Christ’s feet and the saint splays his hands in a gesture of adoration as Christ reaches out to embrace him. The Christ Ch...
Not on display
Within a walled garden, a man wearing a striking blue costume and ornate necklace catches the gaze of a woman holding a jar. A young boy stands just behind her, carrying a spear. Beyond the wall we glimpse treetops and birds flying across a bright sky.This picture is part of a series of four pain...
Abbé Scaglia (1592–1641), cleric, diplomat, spy and one of Van Dyck’s most important patrons, commissioned this painting while suffering from ill health and in a reflective state of mind. It was meant for the church of the Recollect order of Augustinians in Antwerp; within a few years Scaglia wou...
Adriaen van Ostade specialised in painting dimly lit rooms, often belonging to an inn, peopled by ‘low-life’ characters, their features and poses grotesquely caricatured. In some, battered furniture and broken crockery suggest the bar-room brawls that van Ostade also sometimes portrayed.The room...
Not on display
Two men in turbans are seated under a tree that provides little shade. One has his back to us; the other, who wears his clothing in elaborate layers, has a bushy moustache that gives him extra character. He rests his right arm on a jar and looks across the scene, though his eyes are hidden by his...
Two men, wearing robes and headdresses of luxurious fabrics, stand huddled together. Giovanni Battista Tiepolo’s lively outlines and visible brushstrokes emphasise the long, showy sleeves and folds of their clothing. Hints of primary colours appear against more sombre tones, while the brilliant s...
You've viewed 6 of 9 paintings