Alexander Bassano
1899
Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener

Glass negative, half-plate
National Portrait Gallery - NPG
Photographs Collection, NPG x96369
 
(Curatorial note) Kitchener, forseeing a long war, used recruitment campaigns to dramatically expand the British army. Alfred Leete's artwork, 'Your County Needs You', was based on Bassano's photograph of Kitchener, with the addition of a pointing arm. It first appeared on the cover of London Opinion magazine on 5 September 1914, and was adopted for recruitment purposes soon after. Several poster and postcard versions followed, and it became one of the most iconic images of the World War One era.
 
LL/130476