William Woodfall

Inscriptionback to top

Signed, lower right above the quill: T. Beach pinxt./1782.

This portraitback to top

Beach was working in Bath in 1782 and NPG 169 was probably one of the seven portraits of gentlemen he sent to London for exhibition at the SA the following year. [1] Woodfall’s paper, the Morning Chronicle, then printed a flattering notice of Beach, describing him as ‘illustrious and eminent’ among the young artists at Bath, with a ‘rich ... natural genius’. [2]
A replica is in the Palace of Westminster. [3]

Footnotesback to top

1) W. T. Whitley, Artists and their Friends in England 1700-1799, 1928, I, p 394; II, p 368, states that one of these was of Woodfall and ‘probably [NPG 169]’. E. S. Beach, Thomas Beach, 1934, p 75, stated that NPG 169 was the exhibited portrait.
2) W. T. Whitley, Artists and their Friends in England 1700-1799, 1928, II, pp 367-68 (also quoted by H. F. Finberg, Connoisseur, LI, 1918, pp 139, 141; E. S. Beach, Thomas Beach, 1934, pp 16-17).
3) Illus. M. Hay & J. Riding, Art in Parliament, 1996, p 48 (from Sotheby’s, 18 February 1987, lot 243).

Referenceback to top

Beach 1934
E. S. Beach, Thomas Beach, 1934, p 75.

Finberg 1918
H. F. Finberg, Connoisseur, LI, 1918, p 141.

Physical descriptionback to top

Brown eyes, light brown hair, light grey coat over a striped green and yellow waistcoat; on the green tablecloth lies a roll of paper headed: the Debates of the House.

Provenanceback to top

By descent to the sitter’s great-nephew, H. D. Woodfall, by whom presented 1864.<sup>1

1</sup> The Trustees hesitated to accept Woodfall; they had declined a portrait of ‘Woodfall the Printer of Junius’ (i.e. H. S. Woodfall, William’s older brother) in 1860; Scharf then told the potential donor of NPG 169 that ‘Mr Woodfall did not come within the limits the Trustees have adopted’ (2 December 1863; NPG archive); the donor pointed out the previous portrait had been of H. S. not W. Woodfall and, the Board having deferred a decision once, they ‘finally’ accepted the gift of NPG 169 on 29 February 1864.

Exhibitionsback to top

[Society of Artists, London, 1783]; Second special exhibition of National Portraits (William and Mary to MDCCC), South Kensington, (687); Faces as Art, NPG, 1976.

Reproductionsback to top

Anon. woodcuts; ILN, LXII, 1873, p 353; London Society, September 1863.


This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: John Ingamells, National Portrait Gallery: Mid-Georgian Portraits 1760-1790, National Portrait Gallery, 2004, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.

View all known portraits for Thomas Beach

View all known portraits for William Woodfall