Anna Letitia Barbauld (née Aikin)
(1743-1825), Poet and writerMid-Georgian Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter in 6 portraits
A leading early Romantic writer, Barbauld's first publication, Poems (1773), was a popular and critical success. In 1774, she married Rochemont Barbauld, and the couple established a boarding school in Suffolk. Starting in her brother John Aikin's Monthly Magazine, Barbauld began contributing to periodicals and taking commissions from booksellers. She wrote for the Annual Review (1803-9), edited by her nephew Arthur Aikin, and provided prefaces to editions of Mark Akenside (1794) and William Collins (1797). Her most ambitious work was the poem Eighteen Hundred and Eleven (1812), a pessimistic view of the existing state and future prospects of Britain.
Portraits in the Characters of the Muses in the Temple of Apollo
by Richard Samuel
oil on canvas, 1778
NPG 4905
Elizabeth Montagu (née Robinson); Anna Letitia Barbauld (née Aikin)
after Thomas Holloway
line engraving, published 1 July 1776
NPG D4458
Anna Letitia Barbauld (née Aikin)
by Thomas Holloway, after Unknown sculptor
line engraving, published 1785
NPG D1017
Anna Letitia Barbauld (née Aikin)
probably by George Noble, published by Alexander Hogg
line engraving, published 1 August 1786
NPG D14209
Anna Letitia Barbauld (née Aikin)
by John Chapman, after Unknown artist
stipple engraving, published 1798
NPG D4457
Anna Letitia Barbauld (née Aikin)
by Sir Emery Walker, after Henry Meyer
photogravure, circa 1907
NPG D4456
Tell us more back to top
Can you tell us more about this person? Spotted an error, information that is missing (a sitter’s life dates, occupation or family relationships, or a date of portrait for example) or do you know anything that we don't know? If you have information to share please complete the form below.
If you require information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service. You can buy a print of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at £6 for unframed prints, £25 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, please use our Rights and Images service.
Please note that we cannot provide valuations.
We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.