Maurice Johnson

1 portrait by George Vertue

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Maurice Johnson

by George Vertue
watercolour and bodycolour on vellum, 1731
1 7/8 in. x 1 5/8 in. (48 mm x 41 mm) oval
Given by C.A. Marsden, 1969
Primary Collection
NPG 4684

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • George Vertue (1683-1756), Engraver and antiquary. Artist or producer associated with 865 portraits, Sitter in 7 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Gven by Vertue to Johnson as a token of friendship. 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

  • Kerslake, John, Early Georgian Portraits, 1977, p. 159
  • Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 340
  • Walker, Richard, Miniatures: 300 Years of the English Miniature, 1998, p. 55 Read entry

    Maurice Johnson could not have chosen a more suitable artist to paint his portrait than George Vertue. They were both present at the first meeting of the revived Society of Antiquaries at the Mitre Tavern, Fleet Street, in 1717. Johnson claimed to have been the Society's first librarian, and was an avid collector of manuscripts. Vertue, apart from being the Society's official engraver for years, was a compulsive observer of the art scene in England; his Notebooks are still a major source for the history of painting before 1756. His engravings are brilliant; his skill at miniature painting less so.

Subject/Themeback to top

Events of 1731back to top

Current affairs

Legal proceedings in British courts are conducted in the English language for the first time.

Art and science

Sculptor Michael Rysbrack creates a monument to Newton in Westminster Abbey.
The influential Gentleman's Magazine is launched on 1 January.
Agriculturalist Jethro Tull publishes his pioneering treatise The New Horse-Houghing Husbandry.


International

Treaty of Vienna with Austria is signed by Philip Dormer Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield on behalf of Britain, marking the collapse of the Anglo-French Alliance (1727-1731) and the beginning of the Anglo-Austrian Alliance.
Trader Robert Jenkins has his ear cut off by Spanish coast guards in Cuba leading to the War of Jenkins' Ear in 1739.

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