Sarah Siddons (née Kemble) ('Hold! - Pizarro - hear me! - if not always justly, at least act always greatly')

1 portrait of Sarah Siddons (née Kemble)

© National Portrait Gallery, London

 Like voting
is closed

Thanks for Liking

Please Like other favourites!
If they inspire you please support our work.

Buy a print Buy a greetings card Make a donation Close

Sarah Siddons (née Kemble) ('Hold! - Pizarro - hear me! - if not always justly, at least act always greatly')

by and published by Robert Dighton
hand-coloured etching, published 14 December 1799
9 in. x 6 7/8 in. (228 mm x 175 mm) plate size; 13 5/8 in. x 9 7/8 in. (347 mm x 250 mm) paper size
Given by Henry Witte Martin, 1861
Reference Collection
NPG D10687

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • Robert Dighton (1751-1814), Portrait painter, caricaturist and actor. Artist or producer associated with 320 portraits, Sitter in 4 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Sarah Siddons appears as Elvira in Pizarro, a tragedy adapted by Richard Brinsley Sheridan after a work by the German dramatist Kotzebue.

Related worksback to top

  • NPG D10686: John Philip Kemble ('We serve a King whom we love - a God whom we adore') (companion portrait)
  • NPG D6837: Sarah Siddons (née Kemble) ('Hold! - Pizarro - hear me! - if not always justly, at least act always greatly') (companion portrait)

Linked publicationsback to top

  • Perry, Gill (introduction) Roach, Joseph (appreciation) and West, Shearer (appreciation), The First Actresses: Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons, 2011 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 20 October 2011 to 8 January 2012), p. 129

Placesback to top

Events of 1799back to top

Current affairs

The Prince of Wales is reconciled with his secret wife Maria Fitzherbert.
Corresponding Societies Act is passed prohibiting certain named political groups including the radical London Corresponding Society and the United Irishmen.

Art and science

The Swiss artist Henry Fuseli, resident in England since 1778, is appointed Professor of Painting at the Royal Academy.
The conservative educator Hannah More publishes her Strictures on Female Education which criticised demands for women's rights while proposing an active role for them within religious and moral movements.

International

Successful defence of Acre in the Levant is led by William Sidney Smith.
British expedition to Holland, led by General Ralph Abercromby, ends in evacuation after allies defeated at Battle of Bergen-op-Zoom.
Fall of the ruling Directory in France. Napoleon seizes power.
The Rosetta Stone is discovered in Egypt.

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.