Dopo aver partecipato nella campagna di Garibaldi a Volturno e Capua, nel 1864 si trasferì definitivamente in Inghilterra. Dal 1869 mise a frutto il suo talento per la caricatura in contributi alla rivista satirica “Vanity Fair”, firmandosi con lo pseudonimo “Singe” e poi “Ape”. Sotto l’influenza di Whistler, nel 1876 si dedicò alla pittura di ritratti. Raconteur bohemien, uomo di mondo, coccolato dell’alta società inglese, fu l’anima del ristorante Pagani, frequentato da diversi artisti e letterati italiani. Uno stretto rapporto di amicizia con il Principe di Galles lo rese un utile intermediario per ottenere le commissioni reali. 

After participating in Garibaldi’s campaign at Volturno and Capua, in 1864 he moved definitively to England. From 1859, he put his talent for caricature to good use in contributions to the satirical magazine “Vanity Fair”, signing with the pseudonym “Singe” and then “Ape”. Under Whistler’s spell, in 1876 he took up painting portraits. A Bohemian raconteur, man of the world and the darling of English high society, he was the life and soul of Pagani’s restaurant, which was frequented by several Italian artists and writers. A close bond of friendship with the Prince of Wales made him a useful contact for obtaining commissions from the Royal Family.

Bancroft S.B., Blanford Thomas, Bowles Thomas Gibson, Browning Robert, Hutchinson Joshua H., Lawrence Lord, Ludovici Alberto, Hastings Captain, Macbeth Robert Walker, McGregor James R.D., Panizzi Sir Anthony, Russell William, Stracey Sir Henry, Tosti Sir Francesco Paolo, Wales Prince of, White G.F., Whistler James McNeill Abbott

9, Charles Street, Grosvenor Square (1870)

8, George Street, Hanover Square (1878, 1880)

53, Mortimer Street, Regent Street (1881, 1882, 1883)

Liverpool (1878), Londra (1878, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883, 1912)

red., Directory of Artists, in “The Year’s Art”, Londra 1880-1883, ad vocem.

Obituary, in “The Times”, 23 gennaio 1889.

T. Topkins, Carlo Pellegrini, in “The Pall Mall Gazette”, 24 gennaio 1889.

s.a., Fine-Art Gossip, in “The Athenaeum”, 26 gennaio 1889, p. 124.

s.a., The Art of February, in “The Magazine of Art”, 1889, febbraio, p. xx.

Jehu Junior (pseud. di T. Gibson Bowles), Men of the Day. N.CCCCXXII: Carlo Pellegrini, in “Vanity Fair”, 27 aprile 1889, p. 309.

s.a., Fine-Art Gossip, in “The Athenaeum”, 12 ottobre 1889, p. 494.

G.C . Williamson (a cura di), Bryan’s Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, Londra 1904, vol. IV, pp. 87-88.

A. Graves, A Dictionary of Artists who have Exhibited Works at the Principal London Exhibitions from 1870 to 1893, Londra 1901 (ristampa 1973), ad vocem.

A. Graves, The Royal Academy of Arts. A complete dictionary of contributors and their work from its foundation in 1769 to 1904, Londra 1905, vol. VI (ristampa 1970), ad vocem.

C.E. Hallé, Notes from a Painter’s Life, Londra 1909, pp. 136-137.

H. Furniss, My Bohemian Days, Londra 1919.

G.A.F. Rogers, The Arts Club and its Members, Londra 1920, p. 106.

Mrs. J. Comyns Carr, Reminiscences, Londra (1925).

L. Jopling, Twenty Years of My Life, Londra e New York 1925.

A. Ludovici, An Artist’s Life in London and Paris, Londra 1926.

W. Rothenstein, Men and Memories, Londra 1931, pp. 144, 186, 284.

L. Naylor, The Irrepressible Victorian, Londra 1965.

E. Harris, Carlo Pellegrini, in “Apollo”, gennaio 1976, vol. CIII, n. 167, pp. 53-57.

K.K. Yung, National Portrait Gallery. Complete Illustrated Catalogue. 1856-1979, Londra 1981, pp. 736-737.

R.J. Matthews, T. Mellini, Vanity Fair, Berkley Los Angeles 1982.

G.H. Fleming, Whistler. A Life, Aldestrop Inghilterra 1991.

C. Newall, The Grosvenor Gallery Exhibitions, Cambridge 1995.

C. Wood, Victorian Painters, Woodbridge 1995 (ristampa 1998), vol. I, ad vocem.

S.P. Casteras, C. Denney, The Grosvenor Gallery. A Palace of Art in Victorian England, New Haven e Londra 1996.

Lettera ms di Carlo Pellegrini a Sir Henry Stracey 25 giugno 1870 da Londra, Archivio Paul Nicholls, Milano.

http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait-list.php?search=sp&sText=pellegrini%20carlo

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results?basicsearch=carlo%20pellegrini&retrievecountrycounts=false

William Ewart Gladstone (1869), National Portrait Gallery, Londra.

Antonio Panizzi (1874), National Portrait Gallery, Londra.

Tommaso Salvini (1875), National Portrait Gallery, Londra.

Sir Henry Irving (1882), National Portrait Gallery, Londra.

Oscar Wilde (1884), National Portrait Gallery, Londra.

Luigi Arditi (1885), National Portrait Gallery, Londra.

Francesco Paolo Tosti (1885), National Portrait Gallery, Londra.

Costantino Nigra (1886), National Portrait Gallery, Londra.

470 altre illustrazioni originali per la rivista “Vanity Fair”, National Portrait Gallery, Londra.