Catharine Macaulay (née Sawbridge)

1 portrait by Giovanni Battista Cipriani

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Catharine Macaulay (née Sawbridge)

by James Basire, after Giovanni Battista Cipriani
line engraving, published 1765
11 7/8 in. x 9 1/4 in. (301 mm x 235 mm) paper size
Given by Henry Witte Martin, 1861
Reference Collection
NPG D31912

Sitterback to top

Artistsback to top

  • James Basire (1730-1802), Engraver. Artist or producer associated with 85 portraits, Sitter in 1 portrait.
  • Giovanni Battista Cipriani (1727-1785), Painter and engraver. Artist or producer associated with 29 portraits, Sitter in 6 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Catharine Macaulay and her supporters used a wide range of media to position her as a spokesperson and figurehead for the radical cause. This politicised engraving - representing her as the personification of the abstract ideal 'Libertas' (liberty) - was the most widely circulated image of the historian. The design was based on a Roman coin struck by the emperor Brutus after the execution of his sons for conspiracy against the Republic. By linking Macaulay to Brutus, surrounded by a British oak-leaf wreath, the imagery presented her as a powerful champion of republican honour and the promoter of Britain's ancient constitutional liberties.

Related worksback to top

  • NPG D17066: Catharine Macaulay (née Sawbridge) (from same plate)

Linked publicationsback to top

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Events of 1765back to top

Current affairs

George Grenville is dismissed as Prime Minister. He is succeeded by Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham.
Isle of Man is brought under British control.
Stamp Act requires that printed materials in the colonies, such as legal documents and newspapers, are produced on paper made in London carrying an embossed revenue stamp.



Art and science

Nevil Maskelyne becomes Astronomer Royal.
Writer Samuel Johnson publishes his edition of Shakespeare.
Inventor James Watt makes a breakthrough in the development of the steam engine by constructing a model with a separate condenser.
Judge and politician William Blackstone publishes his influential work Commentaries on the Laws of England.

International

Robert Clive secures the rights for the East India Company to collect taxes in Bengal from Mughal Emperor Shah Alam.
American campaigners against the Stamp Act organise themselves as the Sons of Liberty in Massachusetts and New York.


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