'Razor's levée, or ye heads of a new Whig ad...........n on a broad bottom'
18 of 64 portraits of Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford
'Razor's levée, or ye heads of a new Whig ad...........n on a broad bottom'
by James Sayers, published by Thomas Cornell
etching, published 21 April 1783
10 3/4 in. x 15 3/4 in. (274 mm x 400 mm) plate size; 11 5/8 in. x 16 1/2 in. (295 mm x 418 mm) paper size
Purchased, 1905
Reference Collection
NPG D12233
Artistsback to top
- Thomas Cornell (active 1780-1792). Artist or producer associated with 59 portraits.
- James Sayers (1748-1823), Artist. Artist or producer associated with 192 portraits, Sitter in 1 portrait.
Sittersback to top
- John Dunning, 1st Baron Ashburton (1731-1783), Solicitor-General. Sitter in 15 portraits. Identify
- Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Statesman; orator; author. Sitter associated with 107 portraits. Identify
- Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle (1748-1825), Politician and diplomat. Sitter associated with 26 portraits. Identify
- Lord John Cavendish (1732-1796), Politician; MP for several constituencies. Sitter associated with 11 portraits. Identify
- King Charles I (1600-1649), Reigned 1625-49. Sitter associated with 335 portraits. Identify
- Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), Lord Protector of England. Sitter associated with 224 portraits. Identify
- Charles James Fox (1749-1806), Whig statesman. Sitter associated with 313 portraits. Identify
- Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton (1735-1811), Prime Minister. Sitter in 27 portraits. Identify
- Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley (1716-1789), Lawyer and politician. Sitter associated with 4 portraits. Identify
- Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (1732-1792), Prime Minister. Sitter associated with 64 portraits. Identify
- Samuel House (died 1785), Publican and politician. Sitter in 2 portraits. Identify
- Augustus Keppel, Viscount Keppel (1725-1786), Admiral. Sitter associated with 29 portraits. Identify
- William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne (1737-1805), Prime Minister and patron of the arts. Sitter associated with 68 portraits. Identify
- David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield (1727-1796), Diplomat and statesman. Sitter in 19 portraits. Identify
- Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville (1742-1811), Statesman. Sitter associated with 82 portraits. Identify
- William Henry Cavendish Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (1738-1809), Prime Minister. Sitter associated with 32 portraits. Identify
Events of 1783back to top
Current affairs
William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne resigns as Prime Minister over the proposed peace terms with the United States. Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford briefly forms a government with Charles James Fox in April but is succeeded by a government under William Pitt the Younger who, at the age of 24 becomes the youngest British Prime Minister ever to take office.The highwayman John Austin is the last person to be publicly executed at Tyburn.
Art and science
Physician and natural philosopher Erasmus Darwin begins publication of A System of Vegetables, a translation from Latin of the work of Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus in which he coins many common English names of plants.International
Defeat of Charles James Fox's India Bill in the House of Lords which aimed to assist ailing British East India Company.American War of Independence: Treaty of Paris is signed by Britain, France, Spain and the United States, under which the British government recognises US independence. Britain begins to evacuate loyalists and the last British troops leave New York City three months later.
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