Margaret Martyr (née Thornton)
1 portrait by Mather Brown
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Margaret Martyr (née Thornton)
by and published by John Dean, after Mather Brown
mezzotint, published 26 May 1786
9 7/8 in. x 7 1/2 in. (252 mm x 190 mm) plate size; 10 in. x 7 5/8 in. (255 mm x 194 mm) paper size
Reference Collection
NPG D38303
Sitterback to top
- Margaret Martyr (née Thornton) (1761 or 1762-1807), Singer and actress. Sitter in 2 portraits.
Artistsback to top
- Mather Brown (1761-1831), Portrait and history painter. Artist or producer associated with 29 portraits.
- John Dean (1754-1798), Mezzotinter. Artist or producer associated with 10 portraits.
Events of 1786back to top
Current affairs
Philosopher and politician Edmund Burke instigates impeachment proceedings against Warren Hastings, former Governor-General of Bengal after concerns about the moral standards of the British in India are raised.Prime Minister William Pitt appoints commissioners for the reduction of the national debt and establishes a sinking fund of £1 million a year.
Government approves the establishment of a penal colony at Botany Bay.
Art and science
Robert Burns publishes Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect bringing him immediate success across the country.Engraver and publisher John Boydell initiates plans for his Shakespeare Gallery in an effort to establish a school of British history painting.
Merchant David Dale establishes New Lanark in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, as a model cotton milling community.
International
General Charles Cornwallis succeeds Warren Hastings as Governor-General in India.Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Marriage of Figaro premieres in Vienna.
Francisco Goya is appointed court painter to the Spanish king Charles III.
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