Mid-Georgian Portraits Catalogue
William Paley (1743-1805), Theological writer
- Gallery portraits
- All known portraits
- Biography and References
Priest and philosopher, of Christ’s College, Cambridge; Archdeacon of Carlisle 1782; author of The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy, 1785 and Evidences of Christianity, 1794.
'a thick, short, square-built man, with a face which, though animated and cheerful, could not but, at first sight, appear ugly; with bushy brows, snub nose and projecting teeth; with an awkward gait and movement of the arms; a decent and dignified but by no means excessive protuberance of the belly ... he spoke with a very broad northern dialect' (H. D. Best, 1829).
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.
'a thick, short, square-built man, with a face which, though animated and cheerful, could not but, at first sight, appear ugly; with bushy brows, snub nose and projecting teeth; with an awkward gait and movement of the arms; a decent and dignified but by no means excessive protuberance of the belly ... he spoke with a very broad northern dialect' (H. D. Best, 1829).
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.