King George III
1 portrait by Benjamin Smith
© National Portrait Gallery, London
King George III
by Benjamin Smith, published by John Boydell, and published by Josiah Boydell, after Sir William Beechey
stipple engraving, published 1 December 1804
22 1/2 in. x 14 3/8 in. (573 mm x 365 mm) paper size
Purchased with help from the Friends of the National Libraries and the Pilgrim Trust, 1966
Reference Collection
NPG D33154
Sitterback to top
- King George III (1738-1820), Reigned 1760-1820. Sitter associated with 194 portraits.
Artistsback to top
- Sir William Beechey (1753-1839), Portrait painter. Artist or producer associated with 252 portraits, Sitter in 7 portraits.
- John Boydell (1720-1804), Engraver and printseller. Artist or producer associated with 132 portraits, Sitter in 13 portraits.
- Josiah Boydell (1752-1817), Artist and publisher. Artist or producer associated with 69 portraits.
- Benjamin Smith (circa 1754-1833), Engraver, printseller and publisher. Artist or producer associated with 16 portraits.
Placesback to top
- Place made: United Kingdom: England, London (Shakespeare Gallery, Pall Mall and 90 Cheapside, London)
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.