60 OF 207 
William Beckford
60 of 207 portraits matching these criteria:
- set matching 'Wheatley's London (vol 2, part 1)'
© National Portrait Gallery, London
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William Beckford
by John Dixon, printed for Carington Bowles
mezzotint, published 1770
14 in. x 10 in. (355 mm x 254 mm) paper size
Given by Sir Herbert Henry Raphael, 1st Bt, 1913
Reference Collection
NPG D19348
Sitterback to top
- William Beckford (1709-1770), Owner of enslaved people; politician. Sitter in 15 portraits.
Artistsback to top
- Carington Bowles (1724-1793), Printseller. Artist or producer associated with 100 portraits.
- John Dixon (circa 1740-1811), Engraver. Artist or producer associated with 47 portraits.
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'Townshend duties' on imports into the colonies are repealed, except for the duty on tea.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.
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