Said to be Edward Robert Hughes (1851-1914), but more likely Edward Hughes (1832-1908); note by Scott Thomas Buckle below
Maull & Co.
1870s
Albumen carte-de-visite
Image size: 3 1/2 in. x 2 3/8 in. (89 mm x 59 mm)
© National Portrait Gallery. NPG Ax14934. Given by Algernon Graves, 1916 [Click on the image to enlarge it].
Whether this is E.R. Hughes or Edward Hughes, this is rather typical of the standard Maull portrait, which tends towards "passivity ... with a spark of animation or liveliness showing through only rarely" (Flukinger 31). But there is an air of refinement about the young man; and while there is nothing particular to suggest his artistic calling, he does seem to have a keen-eyed gaze. He might almost be looking at a canvas, in the act of painting his own self-portrait.... — JB