Joseph Ames
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Joseph Ames
by Robert Laurie, after Unknown artist
mezzotint, published 1785
8 3/4 in. x 6 1/4 in. (225 mm x 159 mm) plate size; 11 1/8 in. x 8 1/8 in. (286 mm x 207 mm) paper size
Given by Henry Witte Martin, 1861
Reference Collection
NPG D346
Artistsback to top
- Robert Laurie (Lowery or Lowry or Lowrie or Lawrey or Lawrie) (1755?-1836), Mezzotint engraver and printseller. Artist or producer associated with 69 portraits.
- Unknown artist, Artist. Artist or producer associated with 6578 portraits.
Events of 1785back to top
Current affairs
George Prince of Wales secretly marries his mistress Maria Fitzherbert in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act of 1772.Prime Minister William Pitt introduces a bill proposing parliamentary reform and the abolition of 'rotten boroughs' but is defeated.
Art and science
William Cowper publishes his best -known poem The Task.James Boswell publishes The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, narrating his travels with the late writer Samuel Johnson.
Physician and naturalist James Hutton presents his studies of local rocks to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, launching the era of scientific geology.
International
Warren Hastings resigns as Governor-General of Bengal and returns to England. His trial begins on charges of corruption in the administration of India.French sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon crosses the Atlantic to sculpt a statue of George Washington.
British government establishes a permanent land force in the Eastern Caribbean, based in Barbados.
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.