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John Opie

1 of 13 portraits of John Opie

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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John Opie

by John Opie
oil on canvas, 1785
29 1/4 in. x 24 1/2 in. (743 mm x 622 mm)
Purchased, 1858
Primary Collection
NPG 47

On display in Room 18 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery

Sitterback to top

  • John Opie (1761-1807), Portrait and history painter. Sitter in 13 portraits, Artist or producer associated with 151 portraits.

Artistback to top

  • John Opie (1761-1807), Portrait and history painter. Artist or producer associated with 151 portraits, Sitter in 13 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Opie painted many self-portraits, mainly to experiment with different styles of painting. This portrait was made at the time Opie was establishing his reputation in London.

Linked publicationsback to top

Events of 1785back to top

Current affairs

George Prince of Wales secretly marries his mistress Maria Fitzherbert in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act of 1772.
Prime Minister William Pitt introduces a bill proposing parliamentary reform and the abolition of 'rotten boroughs' but is defeated.

Art and science

William Cowper publishes his best -known poem The Task.
James Boswell publishes The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, narrating his travels with the late writer Samuel Johnson.
Physician and naturalist James Hutton presents his studies of local rocks to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, launching the era of scientific geology.

International

Warren Hastings resigns as Governor-General of Bengal and returns to England. His trial begins on charges of corruption in the administration of India.
French sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon crosses the Atlantic to sculpt a statue of George Washington.
British government establishes a permanent land force in the Eastern Caribbean, based in Barbados.

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