Thomas Birch
1 portrait by James Wills
© National Portrait Gallery, London
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Thomas Birch
by James Macardell, after James Wills
mezzotint, (1737)
13 1/8 in. x 9 5/8 in. (332 mm x 243 mm) paper size
Given by Sir Herbert Henry Raphael, 1st Bt, 1913
Reference Collection
NPG D18963
Artistsback to top
- James Macardell (1727 or 1728-1765), Mezzotint engraver. Artist or producer associated with 294 portraits, Sitter in 3 portraits.
- James Wills (died 1777), Painter. Artist or producer associated with 20 portraits.
Events of 1737back to top
Current affairs
Death of Queen Caroline, wife of George II, on 20 November.Frederick, Prince of Wales quarrels with his father. The king expels him from court for criticising the government.
Theatrical Licensing Act introduces censorship, requiring plays to be submitted to the Lord Chancellor for approval and reducing the number of theatres.
Art and science
French portrait-painter Jean-Baptiste Van Loo arrives in England where he soon attracts prominent sitters such as Robert Walpole, Colley Cibber and William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield.Venus passes in front of Mercury and is witnessed by amateur astronomer John Bevis at the Royal Greenwich Observatory. It remains the only such planetary occlusion that has been directly observed.
International
Colonist William Byrd founds Richmond, Virginia.French Académie Royale de Peintre et de Sculpture begins its programme of public exhibitions.
Florence loses her independence when the last Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany dies.
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