Dorothy Jordan
- Overview
- Extended Catalogue Entry
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Dorothy Jordan
by John Hoppner
oil on canvas, exhibited 1791
29 1/2 in. x 24 1/2 in. (749 mm x 622 mm)
Transferred from Tate Gallery, 2015
Primary Collection
NPG 7041
On display in Room 15 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
Sitterback to top
- Dorothy Jordan (Mrs Jordan) (Dorothea Phillips) (1761-1816), Actress; mistress of William IV. Sitter associated with 32 portraits.
Artistback to top
- John Hoppner (1758-1810), Painter. Artist or producer associated with 217 portraits, Sitter in 13 portraits.
This portraitback to top
This portrait shows her in one of her most popular 'breeches' roles in Cibber's She Would and She Would Not, where she dresses as a young soldier to follow her lover to Madrid.
Linked publicationsback to top
- Smartify image discovery app
- Cannadine, Sir David (Introduction); Cooper, Tarnya; Stewart, Louise; MacGibbon, Rab; Cox, Paul; Peltz, Lucy; Moorhouse, Paul; Broadley, Rosie; Jascot-Gill, Sabina, Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits, 2018 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA, 7 October 2018 -3 February 2019. Bendigo Art Gallery, Australia, 16 March - 14 July 2019.), p. 111
- Cullen, Fintan, The Irish Face: Redefining the Irish Portrait, 2004, p. 115
- Holmes, Richard, The Romantic Poets and Their Circle, 2013, p. 81
- Holmes, Richard, Insights: The Romantic Poets and Their Circle, 2005, p. 66
- Holmes, Richard; Crane, David; Woof, Robert; Hebron, Stephen, Romantics and Revolutionaries: Regency portraits from the National Portrait Gallery, 2002, p. 12
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 343
Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top
- The First Actresses: Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons (20 October 2011 - 8 January 2012)
Subjects & Themesback to top
Events of 1791back to top
Current affairs
Thomas Paine publishes his inflammatory and widely read Rights of Man in response to Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France of the previous year. The work advocates radical revolution and prompts a trial for seditious libel that takes place in his absence.The Catholic Relief Act is passed, repealing the most severe penal laws.
Art and science
Robert Burns publishes Tam O'Shanter, combining the Scottish vernacular with the formal traditions of classical English poetry and exploring radical ideas of freedom.The Observer newspaper is founded.
The Ordnance Survey is set up to prepare detailed maps of the country.
International
Mozart composes The Magic Flute.The Declaration of the Rights of Man establishes liberal freedoms in France
The French Constitution is passed by the National Assembly.
Louis XVI flees Paris with his family but is captured at Varennes.
William Pitt declares Britain will remain neutral in any war against France.
Comments back to top
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