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Marguerite, Countess of Blessington

5 of 9 portraits of Marguerite, Countess of Blessington

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Marguerite, Countess of Blessington

by Samuel Cousins, after Sir Thomas Lawrence
mezzotint, published 1837
12 in. x 9 in. (305 mm x 229 mm) plate size; 18 1/4 in. x 13 3/4 in. (465 mm x 349 mm) paper size
Purchased with help from the Friends of the National Libraries and the Pilgrim Trust, 1966
Reference Collection
NPG D31888

Sitterback to top

Artistsback to top

  • Samuel Cousins (1801-1887), Engraver. Artist or producer associated with 178 portraits, Sitter in 7 portraits.
  • Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830), Portrait painter, collector and President of the Royal Academy. Artist or producer associated with 696 portraits, Sitter in 25 portraits.

Related worksback to top

  • NPG D750: Marguerite, Countess of Blessington (from same plate)
  • NPG D31889: Marguerite, Countess of Blessington (from same plate)

Events of 1837back to top

Current affairs

The controversial monarch William IV dies of pneumonia in June leaving no legitimate heirs, and is succeeded to the throne by his niece Victoria, one month after her eighteenth birthday.
The Registration Act of Births, Marriages and Deaths makes it compulsory for all births, marriages and deaths to be registered at a Registry Office.

Art and science

Dickens's second novel Oliver Twist is serialised in Bentley's Magazine. The story of the orphan Oliver is an attack on the Poor Law Amendment Acts (1834), a highly contentious piece of legislation which abolished outdoor relief, effectively increasing entry in the workhouse. The novel, famously made into a musical in 1968, marks Dickens as an outspoken social critic as well as a highly popular and commercial writer.

International

The Russian poet Aleksandr Pushkin is killed in a duel with Baron Georges d'Anthès. Considered the founder of modern Russian literature, Pushkin blended Old Slavonic with vernacular Russian and was the first Russian writer to use everyday speech in his poetry. His works include Eugene Onegin.

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