Mid-Georgian Portraits Catalogue

George Allan (1736-1800), Antiquary and topographer

c.1770-75
Pastel by an unknown artist, see NPG 4307.

c.1785
Drawing by J. Hay, with the antiquary and historian of Durham, William Hutchinson (1732-1814), seated at table with manuscripts. Engraved J. Collyer 1814 (for J. Nichols, Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century, 1812-1815, VIII), the plate originally intended for the first volume of Hutchinson’s History of Durham, published in 1785 (J. Nichols, Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century, 1812-1815, VI, p 351).

1792
Pastel by Henry Spicer, half length, holding a book, two volumes of Camden’s Britannia on a shelf behind him. Christie’s, 9 October 1989, lot 41. Spicer also painted in 1792 the sitter’s sons, George (1767-1828) and James (1772-95), sold Motcomb Galleries, London, 3 April 1963, lot 244; Bonham’s, 28 February 1980, lot 47, and (George alone) Phillips, 13 October 1989, lot 225.



This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: John Ingamells, National Portrait Gallery: Mid-Georgian Portraits 1760-1790, National Portrait Gallery, 2004, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.