Nell Gwyn







© National Portrait Gallery, London
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Nell Gwyn
by Peter van Bleeck, after Sir Peter Lely
mezzotint, 1751
13 7/8 in. x 9 7/8 in. (351 mm x 252 mm) paper size
Given by the daughter of compiler William Fleming MD, Mary Elizabeth Stopford (née Fleming), 1931
Reference Collection
NPG D30627
Sitterback to top
- Eleanor ('Nell') Gwyn (1651?-1687), Actress; mistress of Charles II. Sitter associated with 30 portraits.
Artistsback to top
- Sir Peter Lely (1618-1680), Portrait painter. Artist associated with 843 portraits, Sitter in 19 portraits.
- Peter van Bleeck (1697-1764), Artist. Artist associated with 20 portraits.
Events of 1751back to top
Current affairs
Frederick, Prince of Wales dies and is succeeded by his son, later George III, as Prince of Wales.Third Gin Act requires government inspection of distilleries and restricts sales to licensed premises in an effort to curtail consumption.
Art and science
Thomas Gray publishes his poem Elegy written in a Country Church Yard.Philosopher David Hume publishes An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals.
Eliza Haywood publishes her novel The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless.
William Hogarth publishes his satirical engravings Beer-Street, Gin Lane and The Four Stages of Cruelty.
International
Robert Clive reopens hostilities with the French in India. He prevails after holding out during the siege of Arcot.First part of the Encyclopédie - an innovative 28 volume encyclopedia which represented the dominant strains of Enlightenment thinking - is published in France, edited by Diderot.
Swedish chemist Alex Cronstedt identifies nickel as an impurity in copper ore as a separate metallic element.
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Related pages
- Painted Ladies: Women at the Court of Charles II
- The Diary Room: Characters of the 17th Century
- The First Actresses: Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons
- Catherine Sedley
- Alexander Browne and Richard Tompson
- Restoration Lives: Samuel Pepys and His Circle
- Handlist of names in the Reference Collection
- Duchess of Cleveland Appeal
- Handlist of names in the Reference Collection - M-Z
- Barbara Villiers
- 2018 Anniversaries
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