Robert Southey
(1774-1843), Poet LaureateRegency Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter in 18 portraits
A poet and man of letters, Southey was a youthful republican whose enthusiasm for the French Revolution can be seen in The Fall of Robespierre which he wrote with Coleridge in 1794. In 1803 he joined Coleridge in the Lake District where he met Wordsworth. The three were dubbed the 'Lake School' by the critic Francis Jeffrey. Southey was Poet Laureate from 1813 to his death. Despite Byron's quip about his 'blank verse and blanker prose', his prose is commonly regarded as superior to his poetry. He wrote numerous essays and reviews for the periodical press. His association with the Tory Quarterly Review signalled the beginning of his role as a spokesman for the conservative establishment.
by Robert Hancock
black, red and brown chalk and pencil, 1796
NPG 451
by Henry Edridge
pencil, chalk and wash, 1804
NPG 119
by Mary Dawson Turner (née Palgrave), after Thomas Phillips
pencil, before 1850, based on a work of 1815
NPG 4071
by Edward Nash
watercolour and bodycolour on ivory, 1820
NPG 4028
by Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey
marble bust, 1832
NPG 3956
by Edward William Wyon
wax medallion, 1835
NPG 2681
by John Graham Lough
marble bust, 1845
NPG 841
by James Gillray, published by John Wright
etching, published 1 August 1798
NPG D13093
by James Gillray, published by John Wright
hand-coloured etching, published 1 August 1798
NPG D13094
probably by Charles Williams, published by William Naunton Jones
hand-coloured etching, published 1 March 1814
NPG D46372
by Henry Meyer, after John Jackson
stipple engraving, published 1814
NPG D6816
by Mary Dawson Turner (née Palgrave), after Thomas Phillips
etching, (1815)
NPG D22592
by Mary Dawson Turner (née Palgrave), after Thomas Phillips
etching, (1815)
NPG D15738
by Samuel William Reynolds, after Thomas Phillips
mezzotint, 1823 or before
NPG D6815
by and published by Henry Edward Dawe, published by Martin Colnaghi, after Samuel Lane
mezzotint, published 20 February 1826
NPG D19945
by Peter Lightfoot, after Sir Thomas Lawrence
line engraving, published 1845
NPG D6817
by William Henry Egleton, after John Opie
stipple and line engraving, published 1849
NPG D6814
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