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Mid-Georgian Portraits Catalogue

James Harris (1709-1780), Philosopher, critic, grammarian and politician; MP for Christchurch

Classical scholar, whose works included Hermes, or A Philosophical Enquiry concerning Universal Grammar, 1751; FRS 1763; MP 1761-80, lord of the Admiralty 1763, lord of the Treasury 1763; secretary and comptroller to the Queen 1774-80; his son created Baron Malmesbury 1788 and Earl of Malmesbury 1800.

‘There always appeared to me something of affectation in [his] manner of writing ... but all his writings are imbued with learning; and all breathe that philanthropy and amiable disposition, which distinguished him as a man’ (James Boswell, 1785).

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.