Later Stuart Portraits Catalogue
John Law (1671-1729), Financier and speculator
- Gallery portraits
- All known portraits
- Biography and References
Economist and speculator; b. Edinburgh; in England he led a dissipated life before escaping to Europe to study banking; in 1716 he became a naturalised Frenchman and in 1719 a Catholic convert; in Paris launched the Mississipi Company 1717 for exclusive trade with the French colony of Louisiana, and the Banque Royale 1718; appointed surintendant des finances 1720, but his schemes led to rash speculation and a surfeit of paper money; the ensuing crash enforced his resignation in December 1720; resumed a wandering life and died in Venice.
This extended catalogue entry is from the National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: John Ingamells, National Portrait Gallery: Later Stuart Portraits 1685-1714, National Portrait Gallery, 2009, 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.
This extended catalogue entry is from the National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: John Ingamells, National Portrait Gallery: Later Stuart Portraits 1685-1714, National Portrait Gallery, 2009, 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.