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Sir Philip Francis

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Sir Philip Francis, by James Lonsdale, circa 1806-1810 -NPG 334 - © National Portrait Gallery, London

© National Portrait Gallery, London

Mid-Georgian Portraits Catalogue

Sir Philip Francis

by James Lonsdale
circa 1806-1810
29 1/2 in. x 24 in. (749 mm x 610 mm)
NPG 334

This portraitback to top

When he offered NPG 334 in 1871, Francis alleged it was ‘much better than the one at Holland House, and very superior to the picture now at Byfleet'. [1] The Holland House portrait was engraved by T. Lupton in 1817 as Lonsdale and, less elaborately, by H. Adlard in 1867 as Hoppner; [2] in 1904 it was catalogued as ‘a replica’ by Lonsdale of NPG 334. [3] The Byfleet version[4] was lent by H. R. Francis to the Second special exhibition of National Portraits (William and Mary to MDCCC), South Kensington, 1867 (767) as by Hoppner.
Of these, the Holland House portrait was conceivably Lonsdale’s original, while the Byfleet picture appears to be a copy. NPG 334 differs slightly from both of them, principally in the disposition of the coat and waistcoat collars.

Footnotesback to top

1) Letter to Lord Stanhope, 13 October 1871 (NPG archive).
2) As front. to H. Merivale, Memoirs of Philip Francis, 1867.
3) NPG cat., 1904, no.19.
4) According to the annotated volume of illustrations of the Second special exhibition of National Portraits (William and Mary to MDCCC), South Kensington, 1867 in the NPG archive; illus. The Francis Letters, ed. B. Francis & E. Keary, n.d., I, front.).

Physical descriptionback to top

Brown eyes, white hair, wearing a white collar and neckcloth, yellow waistcoat, dark grey coat with gold buttons and the ribbon and star of the Bath.

Provenanceback to top

By descent to the sitter’s grandson, J. G. Francis,1 from whom purchased 1871.

1 In a letter to Lord Stanhope, 13 October 1871 (NPG archive) he wrote that ‘It has been in my possession for more than thirty years. My father deceased in 1837.’ He wrote twice more to Stanhope, with increasing urgency, concerning the sale, being evidently strapped at the time.

Reproductionsback to top

Freeman 1810 (Monthly Mirror) and 1816.


This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: John Ingamells, National Portrait Gallery: Mid-Georgian Portraits 1760-1790, National Portrait Gallery, 2004, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.

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