The Monument of Richard Bell

1 portrait by Robert Carlyle

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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The Monument of Richard Bell

by James Lowes, after Robert Carlyle
hand-coloured line engraving, published 1796
10 1/8 in. x 6 1/8 in. (257 mm x 155 mm) paper size
Given by the daughter of compiler William Fleming MD, Mary Elizabeth Stopford (née Fleming), 1931
Reference Collection
NPG D24835

Sitterback to top

  • Richard Bell (circa 1410-1496), Bishop of Carlisle. Sitter in 1 portrait.

Artistsback to top

  • Robert Carlyle (1773-1825), Architectural and landscape painter. Artist or producer associated with 1 portrait.
  • James Lowes (circa 1774-1834), Engraver, of Carlisle. Artist or producer associated with 1 portrait.

Portrait setback to top

Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1796back to top

Current affairs

Birth of Princess Charlotte, only child of George, Prince of Wales and Princess Caroline whose marriage soon quickly and publicly degenerates.

Art and science

Fanny Burney publishes Camilla, one of several influential novels exploring social misunderstanding and the fashionable mode of sensibility.
Architect William Chambers completes the building of Somerset House.
Collector William Beckford, the richest man in England, begins construction of his gothic fantasy Fonthill Abbey.

International

Napoleon Bonaparte assumes command of the French armies in Italy and defeats the Austrians at Millesimo and the Piedmontese at Mondovi.
Arthur Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington, arrives in India as a colonel.
John Adams is elected President of the United States, defeating Thomas Jefferson by three votes.

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Dorothy Miller Smith

29 May 2017, 18:35

Richard Bell was Bishop of Carlisle who died in 1496. The engraving was presumably commissioned to mark the 300th anniversary of his death.
The engraver, James Lowes, was a Carlisle artist who is best known for his hand drawn engravings in Hutchinson's 2 volume History of Cumberland published in 1794.
His son Robert Jacques Lowes successfully campaigned for Manchester factory workers to be granted Saturday afternoon off, which led to sweeping national reforms of workers' hours and conditions, and his third great grandson is indeed Sir Ian McKellen.

Ian Tyson

26 January 2017, 10:36

Only that apparently James Lowes is the Great Great Grandfather of Sir Ian Mckellen today World famous actor in films such as Lord of the Rings .... Shown on the BBC tv program Who Do You Think You Are ?...