Unknown boy formerly catalogued as Thomas Chatterton
© National Portrait Gallery, London
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Unknown boy formerly catalogued as Thomas Chatterton
after Unknown artist
stipple engraving, late 18th-early 19th century
4 1/2 in. x 3 1/2 in. (114 mm x 89 mm)
Given by Henry Witte Martin, 1861
Reference Collection
NPG D7829
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'Townshend duties' on imports into the colonies are repealed, except for the duty on tea.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.
Comments back to top
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Bob Hharrisse
25 December 2016, 16:23
I am keen to know how this portrait came to be attributed as Chatterton?
I am a member of the Chatterton Society and am working on a project to gather all known images and create a timeline to determine how the different images developed and what influence one portrait had on the others. I would be glad to give you the results of my research when completed.
However, it would help me greatly if you could tell me if there is some marking on the image or perhaps a letter explaining the attribution?