William Pitt

1 portrait of William Pitt

© National Portrait Gallery, London

 Like voting
is closed

Thanks for Liking

Please Like other favourites!
If they inspire you please support our work.

Buy a print Buy a greetings card Make a donation Close

William Pitt

by James Heath, after Edward Francisco Burney, after Joseph Nollekens
line engraving, (1812)
25 7/8 in. x 15 3/8 in. (657 mm x 392 mm) plate size; 27 5/8 in. x 16 7/8 in. (703 mm x 428 mm) paper size
Acquired, 1951
Reference Collection
NPG D40245

Sitterback to top

  • William Pitt (1759-1806), Prime Minister. Sitter associated with 174 portraits.

Artistsback to top

  • Edward Francisco Burney (1760-1848), Artist and cousin of Frances d'Arblay ('Fanny Burney'). Artist or producer associated with 19 portraits, Sitter associated with 1 portrait.
  • James Heath (1757-1834), Engraver. Artist or producer associated with 84 portraits, Sitter associated with 8 portraits.
  • Joseph Nollekens (1737-1823), Sculptor. Artist or producer associated with 20 portraits, Sitter in 14 portraits.

Events of 1812back to top

Current affairs

Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated in the lobby of the House of Commons by a bankrupt named John Bellingham. A new administration is formed under Lord Liverpool.
The Toleration Act is passed giving greater freedom of worship to dissenters in order to ensure their political loyalty.

Art and science

Actress Sarah Siddons retires from the London stage. Her final appearance is as Lady Macbeth, the role that made her famous, but the performance has to end after the sleepwalking scene because of the fervour of the audience.
Building of Regent's Canal begins under John Rennie.

International

United States declares war on Britain over grievances arising from British naval conduct in the French wars. American plan for attack on Canada fails and British troops under Sir Edward Pakenham force surrender of Detroit.
Wellington defeats French at Salamanca and enters Madrid.
Napoleon leads France in disastrous Russian campaign.

Comments back to top

We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.

If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.