7 OF 12

Robert Stephenson

7 of 12 portraits of Robert Stephenson

Robert Stephenson

by John Richardson Jackson, published by Henry Graves & Co, after John Lucas
mezzotint, published 1 March 1846
21 1/2 in. x 16 in. (545 mm x 406 mm) plate size; 23 5/8 in. x 16 7/8 in. (600 mm x 428 mm) paper size
acquired unknown source, 1950
Reference Collection
NPG D9168

Sitterback to top

Robert Stephenson (1803-1859), Civil engineer; son of George Stephenson. Sitter in 12 portraits.

Artistsback to top

Henry Graves & Co (active 1844-1899), Publishers. Artist associated with 232 portraits.
John Richardson Jackson (1819-1877), Engraver. Artist associated with 59 portraits.
John Lucas (1807-1874), Portrait painter. Artist associated with 32 portraits, Sitter in 1 portrait.

Placesback to top

Place made: United Kingdom: England, London (6 Pall Mall, London)

Subject/Themeback to top

Mezzotint

Events of 1846back to top

Current affairs

The Conservative Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel divides his own party by repealing the unpopular Corn Laws, which prohibited the import of cheap grain from overseas, viewed by many as causing the famines in Ireland (which peaked in this year), as well as domestic hardships following a bad harvest. Peel, defeated on a separate issue, resigns. The Whig Earl Russell becomes Prime Minister.

Art and science

Ether is used for the first time as anaesthetic in an operation by the dentist William Morton, while surgeon John Collins Warren removes a tumor on a patient's neck.
Edward Lear, the popular humourist and artist, and author of illustrated nonsense verse (including 'The Owl and the Pussycat'), publishes his Book of Nonsense.

International

The first Anglo-Sikh war ends with the Treaty of Lahore, by which Jammu and Kashmir are ceded to the British. The war had been fought between the Sikh kingdom of the Punjab and the British East India Company, with conflict escalating after internal disorder in the Punjab led the East India Company to increase their military presence on the border.

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