Arthur Phillip

1 portrait matching these criteria:

- npg number matching '1462'

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Arthur Phillip

by Francis Wheatley
oil on canvas, 1786
35 1/2 in. x 27 1/4 in. (902 mm x 692 mm)
Bequeathed by Mrs Elizabeth Gayton, 1907
Primary Collection
NPG 1462

On display in Room 10 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery

Sitterback to top

  • Arthur Phillip (1738-1814), Admiral of the Blue; first Governor of New South Wales. Sitter in 1 portrait.

Artistback to top

  • Francis Wheatley (1747-1801), Painter. Artist or producer associated with 10 portraits, Sitter associated with 5 portraits.

This portraitback to top

This portrait, which depicts Phillip in his captain's undress uniform standing on a coastal shore, was painted in 1786 presumably in anticipation of his voyage to Australia.

Linked publicationsback to top

Placesback to top

Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1786back to top

Current affairs

Philosopher and politician Edmund Burke instigates impeachment proceedings against Warren Hastings, former Governor-General of Bengal after concerns about the moral standards of the British in India are raised.
Prime Minister William Pitt appoints commissioners for the reduction of the national debt and establishes a sinking fund of £1 million a year.
Government approves the establishment of a penal colony at Botany Bay.

Art and science

Robert Burns publishes Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect bringing him immediate success across the country.
Engraver and publisher John Boydell initiates plans for his Shakespeare Gallery in an effort to establish a school of British history painting.
Merchant David Dale establishes New Lanark in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, as a model cotton milling community.

International

General Charles Cornwallis succeeds Warren Hastings as Governor-General in India.
Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Marriage of Figaro premieres in Vienna.
Francisco Goya is appointed court painter to the Spanish king Charles III.

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