George Vertue
1 portrait
- Overview
- Extended Catalogue Entry
© National Portrait Gallery, London
George Vertue
by Jonathan Richardson
oil on canvas, feigned oval, 1733
29 1/2 in. x 24 1/2 in. (749 mm x 622 mm)
Transferred from The British Museum, London, 1879
Primary Collection
NPG 576
Sitterback to top
- George Vertue (1683-1756), Engraver and antiquary. Sitter in 7 portraits, Artist or producer associated with 865 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Jonathan Richardson (1667-1745), Portrait painter. Artist or producer associated with 126 portraits, Sitter in 8 portraits.
This portraitback to top
This portrait by George Vertue's fellow artist, Jonathan Richardson, was given by Vertue's widow to the British Museum in 1775 and was transferred to the National Portrait Gallery in 1879.
More detailed information on this portrait is available in a National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue, John Kerslake's Early Georgian Portraits (1977, out of print).
Linked publicationsback to top
- Smartify image discovery app
- The British Portrait, 1660-1960, 1991, p. 131 number 119
- Kerslake, John, Early Georgian Portraits, 1977, p. 286
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 633
Events of 1733back to top
Current affairs
Prime Minister Robert Walpole narrowly escapes defeat in the House of Lords over the investigation into the South Sea affair. His Excise scheme, introduced the previous year, also provokes widespread resistance among merchants and is withdrawn.Sugar and Molasses Act is passed by Parliament to tax British colonists in North America.
Art and science
John Kay, working in the Lancashire woollen industry, patents the flying shuttle to speed up weaving.Poet Alexander Pope publishes his philosophical Essay on Man, which proposes a system of ethics in poetic form.
Clergyman Stephen Hales publishes the second volume of his Statical Essays, Haemastaticks, describing the measurement of the 'force of the blood', later known as blood pressure.
International
Philip V of Spain and Louis XV of France sign the Treaty of Escurial and form an alliance against Britain.Voltaire publishes Letters on the English Nation comparing France unfavourably with England.
British colonist James Oglethorpe founds Savannah, Georgia.
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.