Connoisseurs (William Scott; James Sibbald; George Fairholme; James Kerr; and two imaginary men)
Connoisseurs (William Scott; James Sibbald; George Fairholme; James Kerr; and two imaginary men)
by John Kay
etching, 1785
3 1/4 in. x 4 1/4 in. (82 mm x 107 mm) plate size; 10 1/4 in. x 7 7/8 in. (261 mm x 200 mm) paper size
Reference Collection
NPG D20513
Sittersback to top
- George Fairholme (circa 1730-1800), Banker and antiquary. Sitter in 3 portraits. Identify
- James Kerr (died 1820), Banker. Sitter in 1 portrait. Identify
- William Scott (1739-1816), Plumber and antiquary. Sitter in 1 portrait. Identify
- James Sibbald (1747-1803), Bookseller, publisher and editor. Sitter in 1 portrait. Identify
Artistback to top
- John Kay (1742-1826), Miniature painter and caricaturist. Artist or producer associated with 288 portraits, Sitter in 4 portraits.
Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top
- John Kay: Portraits of curious characters (15 December 2007 - 13 July 2008)
Events of 1785back to top
Current affairs
George Prince of Wales secretly marries his mistress Maria Fitzherbert in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act of 1772.Prime Minister William Pitt introduces a bill proposing parliamentary reform and the abolition of 'rotten boroughs' but is defeated.
Art and science
William Cowper publishes his best -known poem The Task.James Boswell publishes The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, narrating his travels with the late writer Samuel Johnson.
Physician and naturalist James Hutton presents his studies of local rocks to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, launching the era of scientific geology.
International
Warren Hastings resigns as Governor-General of Bengal and returns to England. His trial begins on charges of corruption in the administration of India.French sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon crosses the Atlantic to sculpt a statue of George Washington.
British government establishes a permanent land force in the Eastern Caribbean, based in Barbados.
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