William Pitt
(1759-1806), Prime MinisterRegency Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter associated with 174 portraits
Pitt dominated Parliament as Tory Prime Minister from 1783 to 1801 and 1804 to 1806. He restructured Britain's finances after the American Revolution and reformed the government of India in 1784. Pitt regarded the French Revolution as a foreign issue but began to worry that British radicals were in touch with French revolutionaries. After France declared war in 1793, he clamped down on domestic dissent with the first series of 'gagging acts'. In 1800 he arranged a Parliamentary union with Ireland but resigned in 1801 over George III's opposition to Catholics sitting in Parliament. Pitt's rivalry with Fox, his political and temperamental opposite, dominated Parliament for over twenty years.
'France freedom Britain slavery'
by James Gillray, published by James Aitken
hand-coloured etching, published 28 July 1789
NPG D12406
by James Gillray, published by Samuel William Fores
line engraving, published 20 February 1789
NPG D13068
by and published by James Gillray, published by Samuel William Fores
line engraving, published 20 February 1789
NPG D13067
by Johann Gerhard Huck, after Anton Hickel
mezzotint, (1790s)
NPG D40238
by Francesco Bartolozzi, after Gainsborough Dupont
stipple engraving, 1790
NPG D40239
published by Robert Sayer, after Isaac Cruikshank
mezzotint, published 20 February 1790 (1789-1790)
NPG D3891
'John-Bull, baited by the dogs of excise'
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching and aquatint, published 9 April 1790
NPG D12408
published by Robert Sayer, after Isaac Cruikshank
mezzotint, published 20 February 1790 (1789-1790)
NPG D18920
'Wierd sisters; ministers of darkness; minions of the moon'
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching and aquatint, published 23 December 1791
NPG D12436
The Wrangling Friends or Opposition in Disorder
possibly by Isaac Cruikshank, published by John Nixon, possibly after Samuel William Fores
hand-coloured etching, published 10 May 1791
NPG D48866
'Taming of the shrew : - Katharine & Petruchio : - the modern Quixotte, or what you will'
by James Gillray, published by Samuel William Fores
hand-coloured etching, published 20 April 1791
NPG D12416
William Pitt ('An excrescence; - a fungus; - alias - a toad-stool upon a dung-hill')
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 20 December 1791
NPG D12435
'The balance of power. - or - "The posterity of the immortal Chatham, turn'd posture master"'
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 21 April 1791
NPG D13004
by James Gillray, published by Samuel William Fores
hand-coloured etching, published 19 July 1791
NPG D13074
Death of the Earl of Chatham (includes William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham and 55 other sitters)
by Francesco Bartolozzi, after John Singleton Copley
line engraving, published 1791
NPG D18117
'A sphere, projecting against a plane' (William Pitt; Albinia, Countess of Buckinghamshire)
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 3 January 1792
On display in Room 11 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG D12438
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching and soft-ground etching, published 16 March 1792
NPG D12441
William Pitt ('The bottomless-Pitt')
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 16 March 1792
NPG D12442
'The fall of the Wolsey of the woolsack'
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 24 May 1792
NPG D12457
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 9 June 1792
NPG D12458
William Pitt ('John Bull bother'd; - or - the geese alarming the capitol')
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching and aquatint, published 19 December 1792
NPG D12465
'The dagger scene; - or - the plot discover'd'
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 30 December 1792
NPG D12467
'Taking physick: - or - the news of shooting the King of Sweden!'
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 11 April 1792
NPG D13010
'Wha wants me?' (Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville; William Pitt)
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 2 June 1792
NPG D13012
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 13 February 1793
NPG D12470
'Dumourier dining in state at St James's, on the 15th of May, 1793
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 30 March 1793
NPG D12474
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 8 April 1793
NPG D12475
'Presentation of the Mahometan credentials - or - the final resource of French atheists'
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 26 December 1793
NPG D13018
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 10 February 1794
NPG D12484
William Pitt ('The State Caterpillar')
by William Hanlon, published by Samuel William Fores
hand-coloured etching, published 1 September 1795
NPG D48867
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 6 January 1795
NPG D12507
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, engraving and aquatint, published 2 March 1795
NPG D12519
'God save the King, - in a bumper. or - an evening scene, three times a week at Wimbleton'
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 27 May 1795
NPG D12525
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 1 June 1795
NPG D12527
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, engraving and aquatint, published 4 June 1795
NPG D12528
William Pitt ('Blindmans-buff - or - too many for John Bull')
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 12 June 1795
NPG D12531
William Pitt ('The British butcher, supplying John Bull with a substitute for bread')
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 6 July 1795
NPG D12541
William Pitt ('The sleep-walker')
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 1 November 1795
NPG D12542
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 1 November 1795
NPG D12543
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 9 November 1795
NPG D12545
Related People
- William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (father)
- John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham (brother)
- James Charles Pitt (brother)
- Lady Hester Lucy Stanhope (niece)
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