Polly Kennedy (Polly Jones)

by James Wilson, after Katharine Read
mezzotint, 1770s
13 7/8 in. x 9 7/8 in. (354 mm x 250 mm) plate size; 17 3/8 in. x 12 1/8 in. (440 mm x 308 mm) paper size
Purchased with help from the Friends of the National Libraries and the Pilgrim Trust, 1966
Reference Collection
NPG D36835

Sitterback to top

Polly Kennedy (Polly Jones) (died 1781), Courtesan and mistress of Sir Charles Bunbury. Sitter associated with 14 portraits.

Artistsback to top

Katharine Read (1723-1778), Portrait painter. Artist associated with 41 portraits.
James Wilson (circa 1735-after 1786), Printmaker. Artist associated with 21 portraits.

Related worksback to top

NPG D3396: Polly Kennedy (Polly Jones) (from same plate)
NPG D10661: Polly Kennedy (Polly Jones) (from same plate)

Portrait setback to top

Macdonnell Collection

Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1770back to top

Current affairs

Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton resigns as Prime Minister and is succeeded by Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford.

Art and science

Oliver Goldsmith publishes his poem The Deserted Village.
Philosopher and politician Edmund Burke publishes Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents discussing the limits of the King's authority.
17-year-old Thomas Chatterton, later hailed as a significant poet, commits suicide in a London garret.
Thomas Gainsborough paints his portrait of Jonathan Buttall, which later becomes known as The Blue Boy.

International

'Townshend duties' on imports into the colonies are repealed, except for the duty on tea. However, this concession is soon followed by the Boston Massacre, in which British troops fire into an unruly crowd in Boston, killing five.
Captain Cook reaches the eastern coast of Australia, at a place which he names Botany Bay. He discovers the Great Barrier Reef when HMS Endeavour runs onto it. Cook claims New South Wales for the British.

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