Samuel Barrington

This portraitback to top

NPG 5519 appears to be a sketch for the untraced medallion portrait which, with another of Lord Howe, flanked the Relief of Gibraltar by Dominic Serres, exhibited in 1791 beneath Copley’s huge Defeat of the Floating Batteries (Guildhall Art Gallery, 43). It is not clear what subsequently happened to the Relief and the medallions; the Corporation was enquiring after them in 1794, [1] and an engraving of them all together by W. Sharp (the medallion portraits) and R. Pollard (the battle scene) was published in 1810. [2] Copley also painted a rectangular half-length version for the Barrington family, which remains with the sitter’s descendants. [3]
An anonymous circular miniature copy, with a differing background, was sold Bonham’s, 14 May 1991, lot 199.

Footnotesback to top

1) See J. D. Prown, John Singleton Copley, 1966, II, pp 331-35.
2) Illus. J. D. Prown, John Singleton Copley, 1966, II, fig.585; E. B. Neff, John Singleton Copley in England, exhibition catalogue, Washington, Houston, 1995b, p 162.
3) Illus. J. D. Prown, John Singleton Copley, 1966, II, fig.597; exhibited Second special exhibition of National Portraits (William and Mary to MDCCC), South Kensington, 1867 (739) lent Lord Barrington; engraved J. T. Wedgwood; W. Ridley 1800.

Referenceback to top

Prown 1966
J. D. Prown, John Singleton Copley, 2 vols., 1966, pp 343, 412.

Physical descriptionback to top

Blue eyes, his own thin white hair; wearing an admiral’s undress uniform.

Provenanceback to top

The artist’s son, Lord Lyndhurst; his sale, Christie’s, 5 March 1864, lot 54 (‘Portrait of Admiral Barrington, small circle, engraved’), bought Anthony; Dr J. P. Edison, New York; Mrs Leo L. Pollok; Knoedler’s, New York; Christie’s, 16 July 1982, lot 66, purchased.


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.

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