'Blue and buff charity; - or - the patriarch of the Greek clergy applying for relief'
17 of 28 portraits of Joseph Priestley
'Blue and buff charity; - or - the patriarch of the Greek clergy applying for relief'
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 12 June 1793
13 7/8 in. x 16 3/8 in. (351 mm x 417 mm) plate size; 14 3/4 in. x 17 3/8 in. (374 mm x 442 mm) paper size
Purchased, 1947
Reference Collection
NPG D13081
Artistsback to top
- James Gillray (1756-1815), Caricaturist. Artist or producer associated with 887 portraits, Sitter in 7 portraits.
- Hannah Humphrey (circa 1745-1818), Publisher and printseller. Artist or producer associated with 720 portraits, Sitter in 1 portrait.
Sittersback to top
- Charles James Fox (1749-1806), Whig statesman. Sitter associated with 313 portraits. Identify
- Edward Hall, Apothecary. Sitter associated with 4 portraits. Identify
- Joseph Priestley (1733-1804), Theologian and scientist. Sitter in 28 portraits. Identify
- Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816), Dramatist and parliamentary orator. Sitter associated with 168 portraits. Identify
- Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope (1753-1816), Scientist and politician; MP for Wycombe. Sitter associated with 46 portraits. Identify
- Michael Angelo Taylor (circa 1757-1834), Barrister and politician; MP for Poole, Ilchester and City of Durham. Sitter associated with 35 portraits. Identify
- John Horne Tooke (1736-1812), Radical politician; MP and philologist. Sitter associated with 49 portraits. Identify
Events of 1793back to top
Current affairs
Whig MP Charles Grey enters a motion for parliamentary reform but is defeated in the House of Commons.Art and science
Radical philosopher William Godwin publishes Political Justice, an inflamatory document that promoted rational anarchism. This crystallised a wider feeling that a new era of world peace and progress was beginning.Sir William Beechey is appointed Portrait Painter to her Majesty, Queen Charlotte.
International
Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette are executed and the Reign of Terror begins.France declares war on Britain, Holland and then Spain. William Pitt addresses the House of Commons and Britain hesitantly joins the first coalition of anti-revolutionary European states to oppose the French threat.
Attack on Corsica in which Captain Horatio Nelson loses an eye.
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