image details
The Battle of Isandlwana, 22 January 1879.
Oil on canvas by Charles Edwin Fripp (1854-1906), 1885 (c).
This painting illustrates one of the worst disasters suffered by the British Army in the late nineteenth century. Charles Fripp arrived in Zululand in March 1879 as the 'special artist' for 'The Graphic'. Not an eyewitness, he reconstructed this event as more heroic than the shambles it must have been. The painting made little impact when it was exhibited in 1885, as ‘The last stand at Isandhula’, since the event was neither glorious nor topical. However, attitudes and interests have changed, particularly since the film 'Zulu' appeared in 1964. It is now the most popular image in the National Army Museum.
Oil on canvas by Charles Edwin Fripp (1854-1906), 1885 (c).
This painting illustrates one of the worst disasters suffered by the British Army in the late nineteenth century. Charles Fripp arrived in Zululand in March 1879 as the 'special artist' for 'The Graphic'. Not an eyewitness, he reconstructed this event as more heroic than the shambles it must have been. The painting made little impact when it was exhibited in 1885, as ‘The last stand at Isandhula’, since the event was neither glorious nor topical. However, attitudes and interests have changed, particularly since the film 'Zulu' appeared in 1964. It is now the most popular image in the National Army Museum.
Negative No.
530
Accession No.
NAM. 1960-11-182-1
