David Garrick
(1717-1779), Actor, playwright and theatre managerMid-Georgian Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter associated with 61 portraits
Garrick was born in Hereford and grew up in Lichfield, Staffordshire. When Samuel Johnson opened his ill-fated school in 1735, Garrick was one of the few pupils. Perhaps recognising their mutual ambition, the two men travelled to London together in March 1737, taking turns to ride on their shared horse. Garrick first appeared on the London stage in 1741 and went on to achieve huge success as an actor, playwright and theatre manager, becoming the most celebrated theatrical personality of the eighteenth century. He was acclaimed for his naturalistic style and his versatility in both comic and tragic roles. He transformed what it meant to be an actor, no longer simply an entertainer but a pillar of British culture.
David Garrick ('Nature & Genius introducing Garrick to the Temple of Shakespeare')
by and published by John Hamilton Mortimer
etching, published 21 April 1779
NPG D34375
by John Dixon, published by Robert Wilkinson, after Thomas Hudson
mezzotint, published 11 October 1779 (1761)
NPG D34386
after Robert Edge Pine
mezzotint, published 1779
NPG D2746
after Robert Edge Pine
mezzotint, published 1779
NPG D2747
after Robert Edge Pine
mezzotint, published 1779
NPG D2748
by James Caldwall (Caldwell), by S. Smith, after and published by George Carter
line engraving, published 20 January 1783
NPG D18114
by Burnet Reading, published by William Richardson
stipple engraving, published 1785
NPG D27956
David Garrick; William Hogarth
by Barak Longmate
line engraving, early 19th century
NPG D2745
'Blowing up the Pic Nic's; - or - Harlequin Quixotte attacking the puppets'
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching and aquatint, published 2 April 1802
NPG D12786
David Garrick ('Richard the Third')
by William Bromley, after John Boultbee, after Francis Hayman
stipple and line engraving, after 1806 (1760)
NPG D34387
by Samuel Freeman, published by Vernor, Hood & Sharpe, after Sir Joshua Reynolds
stipple engraving, published 1 June 1807
NPG D15308
Facsimile of the Proportions of Garrick and Quin (David Garrick; James Quin)
by Thomas Cook, published by Longman, Hurst, Rees & Orme, possibly after William Hogarth
etching, published 1808 (1746)
NPG D23497
by William Skelton, published by Colnaghi & Co, after Robert Edge Pine
line engraving, published 1 November 1818 (1775-1780)
NPG D34377
by E.J. Portbury, after William Hogarth
line engraving, mid 19th century (1741)
NPG D8363
by James Scott, after Thomas Gainsborough
mezzotint, 1850s-1880s (1766-1769)
NPG D2418
'A literary party at Sir Joshua Reynolds's'
by D. George Thompson, published by Owen Bailey, after James William Edmund Doyle
stipple and line engraving, published 1 October 1851
NPG D14518
Garrick surrounded by his friends
by George Salisbury Shury, published by A.J. Isaacs, after William Hogarth
stipple engraving and mezzotint, published 20 August 1866
NPG D34380
by James Macardell, published by Robert Sayer, after Jean Etienne Liotard
mezzotint, circa 1750-1775
NPG D19570
by John Finlayson, after Sir Joshua Reynolds
mezzotint, published 1 February 1769
NPG D19353
'Blowing up the Pic Nic's; - or - Harlequin Quixotte attacking the puppets'
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching and aquatint, published 2 April 1802
NPG D13699
'A literary party at Sir Joshua Reynolds's'
by D. George Thompson, published by William Walker, and Owen Bailey, after James William Edmund Doyle
stipple and line engraving, published 1 July 1848
NPG D49811
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