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Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford

Image credit: National Portrait Gallery, London

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A skilled statesman and Prime Minister at the age of 37, North was placed in office by George III to contend with the mounting crisis in the American colonies. His imposition of the Tea Tax and other repressive measures against the colonists lead to the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Despite his wish to resign when the war turned against Britain, the King kept him in office; afterwards he claimed to have felt more the agent of the King than a responsible adviser.
This portrait of North writing a letter is one of Batoni's earliest and most sensitive portraits of an Englishman on the Grand Tour and was painted during the sitter's stay in Rome.

National Portrait Gallery, London

London

Title

Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford

Date

1753–1756

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 93.4 x W 75.6 cm

Accession number

6180

Acquisition method

Purchased with help from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Art Fund, 1992

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

National Portrait Gallery, London

St Martin’s Place, London, Greater London WC2H 0HE England

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