William Shield

1 portrait by Horace W. Billington

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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William Shield

by Robert Dunkarton, published by Horace W. Billington, after John Opie
mezzotint, published 1 January 1788 (exhibited 1787)
14 7/8 in. x 10 7/8 in. (378 mm x 276 mm) plate size; 16 1/2 in. x 12 in. (418 mm x 305 mm) paper size
Given by the daughter of compiler William Fleming MD, Mary Elizabeth Stopford (née Fleming), 1931
Reference Collection
NPG D40705

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Artistsback to top

  • Horace W. Billington (active 1788-1812), Carver, gilder and printseller. Artist or producer associated with 1 portrait.
  • Robert Dunkarton (circa 1744-circa 1815), Engraver and portrait painter. Artist or producer associated with 166 portraits.
  • John Opie (1761-1807), Portrait and history painter. Artist or producer associated with 151 portraits, Sitter in 13 portraits.

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Events of 1788back to top

Current affairs

Parliament begins an investigation into the slave trade, led by reformers Thomas Clarkson and William Wilberforce.
Regency Crisis; George III's madness is announced provoking a political storm.
Former Governor-General of Bengal Warren Hastings' trial begins before the House of Lords.
Henry Benedict Stuart becomes the new Stuart claimant to the British throne.

Art and science

Artist Thomas Gainsborough dies.
First edition of The Times newspaper is published in London.
Scottish engineer and inventor William Symington demonstrates the first paddle steamer on Dalswinton Loch near Dumfries.
Robert Burns writes his version of the Scots poem Auld Lang Syne.

International

Ministers of the French King, Louis XVI, reluctantly announce that the Estates General will meet the following year, for the first time since 1614.
United States constitution comes into force when New Hampshire becomes the ninth state to ratify it.
First Fleet reaches Australia, anchoring in Botany Bay. Arthur Phillip, selecting a suitable site for the first Australian penal colony, names the place Sydney Cove.

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