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Spencer Joshua Alwyne Compton, 2nd Marquess of Northampton

4 of 5 portraits of Spencer Joshua Alwyne Compton, 2nd Marquess of Northampton

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Spencer Joshua Alwyne Compton, 2nd Marquess of Northampton

by and published by William Walker, after Thomas Phillips, and after Henry Wyndham Phillips
mezzotint, published 25 November 1848
20 1/4 in. x 15 1/4 in. (514 mm x 386 mm) plate size
acquired unknown source, 1963
Reference Collection
NPG D38775

Sitterback to top

Artistsback to top

  • Henry Wyndham Phillips (1820-1868), Painter. Artist associated with 34 portraits, Sitter in 5 portraits.
  • Thomas Phillips (1770-1845), Portrait painter. Artist associated with 216 portraits, Sitter in 4 portraits.
  • William Walker (1791-1867), Photographer, engraver and publisher. Artist associated with 128 portraits.

Related worksback to top

  • NPG D38772: Spencer Joshua Alwyne Compton, 2nd Marquess of Northampton (from same plate)

Placesback to top

Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1848back to top

Current affairs

Led by Feargus O'Connor, up to 50,000 Chartist members meet on Kennington Common, to form a procession and present another petition to Parliament. Although there was a large military and police presence, the rally was peaceful.

Art and science

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood a group of English painters, poets and critics, is founded by John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Holman Hunt, intent on reforming art by rejecting the artists who imitated Raphael and Michelangelo. Instead, they advocated a return to a close observation of nature, invested with the intense detail, colours, and compositions of Quattrocento Italian and Flemish art, producing works layered with symbolism.

International

Following the fall of the French monarchy, revolutions take place in France, Germany and Italy, provoked by a widespread desire for political independence from repressive regimes, and a range of economic problems which had caused unemployment, food shortages and poverty. Louis Napoleon becomes the first President of France's Second Republic.
The first gold rush takes place in America, after gold is found on the Sacramento river, California.

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