James Sayers
(1748-1823), ArtistSitter in 1 portrait
Artist associated with 192 portraits
An attorney of independent means he quit his profession in order to focus on political caricature. His allegiance was with the Tory William Pitt and he directed his satire against Charles James Fox and his Coalition Ministry. Underlining the power of the political print in the late eighteenth century, Fox is said to have declared that Sayers' caricatures had done him 'more mischief than the debates in Parliament or the works of the Press'. Sayers' strengths lay in his gift for portraiture and characterisation and his prints were evidently a source of reference for James Gillray and others. The National Portrait Gallery collection includes an album of etchings selected for a friend by Sayers himself in 1818.
Joseph Ritson ('Impiger iracundus inexorabilis acer')
by James Sayers, published by Hannah Humphrey
etching and aquatint, published 22 March 1803
NPG D9623
Richard Brinsley Sheridan ('The manager and his dog - or a new way to keep one's head above water')
by James Sayers, published by Hannah Humphrey
etching and aquatint, published 17 December 1803
NPG D9941
Richard Brinsley Sheridan ('The manager and his dog - or a new way to keep one's head above water')
by James Sayers, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching and aquatint, published 17 December 1803
NPG D12825
'Achitophel an old jew scribe lately turned Greek'
by James Sayers, published by Hannah Humphrey
etching and aquatint, published 11 July 1804
NPG D12263
'Et cadet ante aras infelix victima virgo'
by James Sayers
etching, circa 1805
NPG D9555
by James Sayers, published by Hannah Humphrey
etching and aquatint, published 26 June 1805
NPG D12264
by James Sayers, published by Hannah Humphrey
etching and aquatint, published 4 June 1807
NPG D9655
!['[Frontispiece to hints to J. Nollekens, Esq RA]', by James Sayers, published by R. Spencer - NPG D12265](https://collectionimages.npg.org.uk/std/mw60743/Frontispiece-to-hints-to-J-Nollekens-Esq-RA.jpg)
'[Frontispiece to hints to J. Nollekens, Esq RA]'
by James Sayers, published by R. Spencer
soft-ground etching, published 19 July 1808
NPG D12265
by Maxim Gauci, published by Charles Joseph Hullmandel, after James Sayers
lithograph, (August 1814)
NPG D12232
by Richard James Lane, after James Sayers
lithograph, circa 1825-1850
NPG D21907
by James Sayers, published by Charles Bretherton
etching, published 17 June 1782
NPG D16925
by James Sayers, published by Thomas Cornell
etching, published 22 July 1785
NPG D5876
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