William Henry West Betty
1 portrait matching these criteria:
- subject matching 'Costumes and national dress'
- Overview
- Extended Catalogue Entry
© National Portrait Gallery, London
William Henry West Betty
by John Opie
oil on canvas, 1804
78 1/8 in. x 58 7/8 in. (1985 mm x 1495 mm)
Bequeathed by the sitter's son, Henry Thomas Betty, 1905
Primary Collection
NPG 1392
On display in Room 18 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
Sitterback to top
- William Henry West Betty (1791-1874), Known as 'The Young Roscius'; actor. Sitter associated with 9 portraits.
Artistback to top
- John Opie (1761-1807), Portrait and history painter. Artist or producer associated with 151 portraits, Sitter in 13 portraits.
This portraitback to top
This portrait shows Betty in the role of Young Norval in John Home's play Douglas.
Linked publicationsback to top
- Smartify image discovery app
- Holmes, Richard; Crane, David; Woof, Robert; Hebron, Stephen, Romantics and Revolutionaries: Regency portraits from the National Portrait Gallery, 2002, p. 125
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 55
- Walker, Richard, Regency Portraits, 1985, p. 44
Subjects & Themesback to top
Events of 1804back to top
Current affairs
William Pitt returns to office and forms a second coalition administration, retaining many of those who had served under his predecessor Henry Addington but specifically excluding his arch rival Charles James Fox .Art and science
William Blake starts writing Jerusalem. One of his most ambitious allegorical poems, it took nearly eight years to complete.Amidst infighting about submissions to the annual exhibition, attempts are made to unseat painter Benjamin West as President of the Royal Academy and elect architect James Wyatt instead.
International
Napoleon declares himself Emperor of France and is crowned as Napoleon I by Pope Pius VII in Paris.Haiti achieves independence led by Toussaint L'Ouverture, the patriot and martyr who had seized control from the French in 1801. He becomes a symbolic figure of freedom for the British anti-slavery movement.
Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.