Room 12
Radicals, Resistance and Reform
For most of its history, Britain was far from a modern democracy. Many of the population could not vote in Parliamentary elections and had little influence over the laws that affected their lives. Demands for more people to have the vote, and a fairer distribution of Parliamentary seats, began to grow in the 1760s. During the same period, the campaign for the abolition of slavery gained momentum. Radical politicians and working-class activists pushed for change, leading to the Reform Act of 1832. This was a first step towards democracy in Britain. The new, more representative Parliament was among the first in Europe to abolish slavery in 1833. Women could not vote in Parliamentary elections until 1918.
'John Wilkes and his daughter Polly' (Mary ('Polly') Wilkes; John Wilkes)
by Johan Joseph Zoffany
oil on canvas, exhibited 1782
On display in Room 12 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG 6133
William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield
by John Singleton Copley
oil on canvas, exhibited 1783
On display in Room 12 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG 172
The Anti-Slavery Society Convention, 1840
by Benjamin Robert Haydon
oil on canvas, 1841
On display in Room 12 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG 599
Olaudah Equiano ('Gustavus Vassa')
by Daniel Orme, published by Olaudah Equiano ('Gustavus Vassa'), after W. Denton
stipple engraving, published 1 March 1789
On display in Room 12 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG D8546
Thematic collections
- Georgian and Regency portraits
- National Portrait Gallery works in Elizabeth to Victoria exhibition at the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow
- Portraits featuring - Necklace
- Portraits featuring - Brooch
- Portraits featuring - Ring
- Group portraits
- Events and occasions
- Victorian and Edwardian portraits
- Diversity
- The Art Fund
- National Heritage Memorial Fund
- Portraits featuring - Earring