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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

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The Brougham

A philosopher-style of beard – thick and lengthy; a greyer, hence wiser version of the Burke; and suited to older men who saw themselves as sagacious or statesmanlike.

The Loch and other styles of abundant beard were argued by some during the beard heyday of the mid 1800s to have health benefits: they kept the face and neck protected from the elements, and had the effect of filtering out disease-causing dust or pollutants. ‘Why shave?’ asked an essay published by Charles Dickens in 1853, when it was nothing but ‘a painful, vexatious and ... actually unwholesome custom.’

1 The Brougham. 2 Thomas Woolner, c. 1865 an unknown artist. 3 Edward John Eyre, 1867 Julia Margaret Cameron. 4 Buckley discovering himself to the early settlers, 1869 S Calvert, Gibbs, Shallard and Co after O.R. Campbell. 5 The Cape High Commissioner (Sir Henry Brougham Loch), 1894 Sir Leslie Ward, Vanity Fair Magazine.
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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

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