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John Howard

(1726?-1790), Prison reformer

Mid-Georgian Portraits Catalogue Entry

Sitter in 7 portraits
Prison reformer and social campaigner. Howard himself experienced imprisonment in France in 1756. It was not until 1773 when he became High Sherriff of Bedfordshire that he initiated an important campaign to transform prison conditions. His long series of visits to prisons in Britain and most European countries led him to write his influential book The State of the Prisons, first published in 1777. A highly reserved man, Howard shunned public recognition throughout his life.

Watch a film clip on the sitter from the BBC Archive in the Media section below

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John Howard, by Mather Brown - NPG 97

John Howard

by Mather Brown
oil on canvas, feigned oval, circa 1789
NPG 97

John Howard ('The triumph of benevolence'), by James Gillray, published by Robert Wilkinson - NPG D13059

John Howard ('The triumph of benevolence')

by James Gillray, published by Robert Wilkinson
stipple and line engraving, published 21 April 1788
NPG D13059

John Howard, by Edmund Scott, after Mather Brown - NPG D36010

John Howard

by Edmund Scott, after Mather Brown
stipple engraving, (1789)
NPG D36010

John Howard, by Edmund Scott, after Mather Brown - NPG D19492

John Howard

by Edmund Scott, after Mather Brown
stipple engraving, (1789)
NPG D19492

John Howard, by Antoine Maurin, printed by François Le Villain, after Mather Brown - NPG D36011

John Howard

by Antoine Maurin, printed by François Le Villain, after Mather Brown
lithograph, 1820s-1830s (1789)
NPG D36011

John Howard, by William Daniell, after George Dance - NPG D12202

John Howard

by William Daniell, after George Dance
soft-ground etching, published 1854? (1794)
NPG D12202

Web image not currently available

John Howard

by and published by M. Davis
line engraving, published 9 May 1787
NPG D14987

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