James Ferguson

1 portrait by Francis Haward

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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James Ferguson

by Francis Haward, published by Walter Shropshire, after James Northcote
mezzotint, published 20 March 1776
13 7/8 in. x 10 in. (353 mm x 253 mm) plate size; 16 1/2 in. x 12 3/8 in. (418 mm x 314 mm) paper size
Given by Sir Herbert Henry Raphael, 1st Bt, 1913
Reference Collection
NPG D18921

Sitterback to top

  • James Ferguson (1710-1776), Astronomer, instrument maker and scientific lecturer; miniature painter. Sitter in 3 portraits.

Artistsback to top

  • Francis Haward (1759-1797), Engraver. Artist or producer associated with 9 portraits, Sitter in 1 portrait.
  • James Northcote (1746-1831), Painter; pupil and biographer of Sir Joshua Reynolds. Artist or producer associated with 104 portraits, Sitter associated with 23 portraits.
  • Walter Shropshire (died 1785), Publisher. Artist or producer associated with 18 portraits.

Placesback to top

Events of 1776back to top

Current affairs

Tahitian visitor to London Omai returns home with Captain James Cook on his third voyage. During his two-year stay he inspired a play and was painted by Joshua Reynolds.
Member of Parliament David Hartley unsuccessfully introduces a motion to the House of Commons calling for the abolition of the slave trade.

Art and science

Edward Gibbon produces the first volume of his monumental The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
Artist John Constable is born.
Scottish economist Adam Smith analyses the nature and causes of prosperity in his magnum opus The Wealth of Nations.

International

American War of Independence: George Washington raises a new American flag on Prospect Hill, Boston. In an anonymous pamphlet entitled Common Sense, English immigrant Thomas Paine is the first to argue that the American colonies should be independent. Declaration of American Independence on 4 July.

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