King William IV
15 of 175 portraits of King William IV
- Overview
- Extended Catalogue Entry
© National Portrait Gallery, London
King William IV
by Reginald Easton
watercolour, circa 1838-1839
8 1/8 in. x 6 in. (207 mm x 152 mm)
Purchased, 1970
Primary Collection
NPG 4703
Sitterback to top
- King William IV (1765-1837), Reigned 1830-37. Sitter associated with 175 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Reginald Easton (1807-1893), Artist. Artist or producer associated with 4 portraits.
Linked publicationsback to top
- Ormond, Richard, Early Victorian Portraits, 1973, p. 509
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 664
Events of 1838back to top
Current affairs
The Anti-Corn Law league is established in Manchester, led by Richard Cobden and John Bright, aiming to create a fully free-trade economy.The People's Charter is published, demanding many constitutional amendments that would become central to future democratic reform, including universal male suffrage and secret ballots. Despite having one million signatures (and 5 million by 1848), the petition was rejected.
Slavery is completely abolished.
Art and science
Turner's The Fighting Temeraire is exhibited at the Royal Academy. The Temeraire, which had broken the line at the Battle of Trafalgar, was a reflection on the rapid changes of the industrial age. This was demonstrated this year when Isambard Brunel's Great Western crosses the Atlantic, in just fifteen days - a ship under sail could take a month.The London-Birmingham railway is also completed, the line engineered by Robert Stephenson.
International
The first stage in the formation of independent Boer republics in South Africa, as the Republic of Natal is formed in South Africa, following the Boers defeat of the Matabele of Mzilikasi. This comes two years after the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of the British-ruled colony of South Africa set out on the Great Trek, in search of their own independent state.The Central American Federation, an experimental republic formed of several Latin states splits.
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