Joseph Priestley
- Overview
- Extended Catalogue Entry
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Joseph Priestley
by Ellen Sharples
pastel, circa 1797
9 1/2 in. x 7 1/2 in. (241 mm x 191 mm) oval, uneven
Given by T.H. Russell and Mrs Alexander Scott, 1936
Primary Collection
NPG 2904
Artistback to top
- Ellen Sharples (1769-1849), Artist. Artist or producer associated with 4 portraits.
Linked publicationsback to top
- Ingamells, John, National Portrait Gallery: Mid-Georgian Portraits 1760-1790, 2004, p. 386
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 505
Events of 1797back to top
Current affairs
The Anti-Jacobin periodical makes its debut followed by The Anti-Jacobin Review the year after. Edited by William Gifford, it acted as a Tory mouthpiece against the 'New Morality' associated with republicanism.Bank crisis results in the temporary suspension of payments by the Bank of England leading to a nationwide currency shortage.
Art and science
Robert Southey, later Poet Laureate, publishes his collected Poems, exploring contemporary interest in mythology and non-European cultures.Ann Radcliffe publishes her popular gothic novel The Italian. One of the most imaginative novelists of the period, she helped introduce readers to the romantic sense of the supernatural.
International
Battle of Cape St Vincent. Admiral John Jervis leads the fleet which defeat the Spanish.Failure of a small French invasion in Pembrokeshire.
Naval mutinies at Spithead and Nore.
Attack on the Canary Islands in which Rear-Admiral Nelson loses an arm.
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