Regency Portraits Catalogue
William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville (1759-1834), Prime Minister
- Gallery portraits
- All known portraits
- Biography and References
1781
Oil by Romney at Eton College, one of the Eton leaving portraits sent therein 1781 though Grenville had left in 1776 (exhibited Kenwood 1961, 30).
1790-2
Oil by Gainsborough Dupont (NPG 5715).
c.1800
Oils by Hoppner (see NPG 318).
1810
Oil by Phillips in the Royal College of Surgeons of England, three-quarter-length in robes as Chancellor of Oxford, Tom Tower in the background. Phillips's Sitter Book records its completion on 4 April 1810 and a copy made in 1840 for Oxford (Examination Schools); other copies (not noted in the Sitter Book) are at Christ Church, Oriel College, and Petworth (signed and dated: TP 1819). The original was exhibited RA 1810 (32) and engraved by Fittler 1812.
Marble busts by Nollekens at Windsor Castle and Brasenose College, both signed and dated 1810; an undated version is at Althorp. A magnificent line engraving by James Fittler published 1823 is lettered: Secundum effigiem marmoream ab ipsa collegio Aenei Nasi Dono Datam. Grenville was to sit to Nollekens in 1806 but Lady Grenville said 'His Lordship's time is so occupied that He could only sit before breakfast' (Farington, Diary, 19 September 1806).
1812
Oil by Owen at Christ Church, Oxford, whole-length in Chancellor's robes holding mortarboard, exhibited RA 1812 (66) and engraved by Meyer 1814 and by Agar 1815 for Cadell's Contemporary Portraits; a three-quarter-length copy is at Oriel College.
1814
Oil on panel by George Jones at Magdalen College, Oxford, 'The Reception of the Prince Regent in Oxford June 1814'; Grenville as Chancellor of the University stands in a group welcoming the Prince outside Queen's College (R. L. Poole, Catalogue of Oxford Portraits, II, 232).
1820
'The Trial of Queen Caroline 1820' by Hayter (NPG 999).
c.1822
Oil by Jackson exhibited RA 1822 (61) and engraved by T. A. Dean for Jerdan's National Portrait Gallery, 1829; a watercolour miniature or print exhibited by W. Dean at SBA 1826 (584) is possibly connected with this portrait. Jackson's oil is not mentioned beyond a passing reference in Morgan's Jackson, p 115.
c.1830
Drawing by Lady Charlotte Proby was lithographed by Gauci and published posthumously, three-quarter-length as an old man with a rug over his knees seated in an armchair, book in right hand, gesturing with left; the cleft chin and three moles on the cheek are clearly noticeable.
Undated
Marble bust by G. B. Comolli from Stowe and in the Stowe sale 21 August 1848 (760), is in the Plymouth Art Gallery on loan from Boconnoc (Captain Fortescue).
Undated and doubtful
Oil attributed to Abbott was in the Lockett Agnew sale Christie's 15 June 1923 (18) and again Christie's 24 November 1972 (144), half-length as a young man in a brown coat, white waistcoat and cravat, in a painted oval; the markedly aquiline nose bears no resemblance to Grenville's.
This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: Richard Walker, Regency Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, 1985, 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.
Oil by Romney at Eton College, one of the Eton leaving portraits sent therein 1781 though Grenville had left in 1776 (exhibited Kenwood 1961, 30).
1790-2
Oil by Gainsborough Dupont (NPG 5715).
c.1800
Oils by Hoppner (see NPG 318).
1810
Oil by Phillips in the Royal College of Surgeons of England, three-quarter-length in robes as Chancellor of Oxford, Tom Tower in the background. Phillips's Sitter Book records its completion on 4 April 1810 and a copy made in 1840 for Oxford (Examination Schools); other copies (not noted in the Sitter Book) are at Christ Church, Oriel College, and Petworth (signed and dated: TP 1819). The original was exhibited RA 1810 (32) and engraved by Fittler 1812.
Marble busts by Nollekens at Windsor Castle and Brasenose College, both signed and dated 1810; an undated version is at Althorp. A magnificent line engraving by James Fittler published 1823 is lettered: Secundum effigiem marmoream ab ipsa collegio Aenei Nasi Dono Datam. Grenville was to sit to Nollekens in 1806 but Lady Grenville said 'His Lordship's time is so occupied that He could only sit before breakfast' (Farington, Diary, 19 September 1806).
1812
Oil by Owen at Christ Church, Oxford, whole-length in Chancellor's robes holding mortarboard, exhibited RA 1812 (66) and engraved by Meyer 1814 and by Agar 1815 for Cadell's Contemporary Portraits; a three-quarter-length copy is at Oriel College.
1814
Oil on panel by George Jones at Magdalen College, Oxford, 'The Reception of the Prince Regent in Oxford June 1814'; Grenville as Chancellor of the University stands in a group welcoming the Prince outside Queen's College (R. L. Poole, Catalogue of Oxford Portraits, II, 232).
1820
'The Trial of Queen Caroline 1820' by Hayter (NPG 999).
c.1822
Oil by Jackson exhibited RA 1822 (61) and engraved by T. A. Dean for Jerdan's National Portrait Gallery, 1829; a watercolour miniature or print exhibited by W. Dean at SBA 1826 (584) is possibly connected with this portrait. Jackson's oil is not mentioned beyond a passing reference in Morgan's Jackson, p 115.
c.1830
Drawing by Lady Charlotte Proby was lithographed by Gauci and published posthumously, three-quarter-length as an old man with a rug over his knees seated in an armchair, book in right hand, gesturing with left; the cleft chin and three moles on the cheek are clearly noticeable.
Undated
Marble bust by G. B. Comolli from Stowe and in the Stowe sale 21 August 1848 (760), is in the Plymouth Art Gallery on loan from Boconnoc (Captain Fortescue).
Undated and doubtful
Oil attributed to Abbott was in the Lockett Agnew sale Christie's 15 June 1923 (18) and again Christie's 24 November 1972 (144), half-length as a young man in a brown coat, white waistcoat and cravat, in a painted oval; the markedly aquiline nose bears no resemblance to Grenville's.
This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: Richard Walker, Regency Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, 1985, 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.