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Notes
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Sandwich was First Lord of the Admiralty on three separate occasions: 1748–1751, 1763–1765 and 1771–1782. He became unpopular due to his private life but it has been shown that the bad reputation fostered by his enemies and perpetuated by Victorian historians, underrates his merits and historical importance. During the War of American Independence he initiated notable reforms, especially in the dockyards and ship construction, which proved critical in the navy's later success against Revolutionary France. He also initiated an attempt to reach the North Pole and supported the voyages of Captain Cook, who named the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) after him. The modern sandwich is also named after him, though the story that it was brought to sustain him at the gaming table is far less likely than that he ate this way in long hours at his Admiralty desk.
Sandwich's private life was marred by tragedy. His happy marriage disintegrated with the mental illness of his wife in the 1750s: she was declared insane in 1767. The singer Martha Ray, his mistress and mother of their five children, was shot dead on the steps of Covent Garden Theatre in 1779.
This portrait was commissioned for Greenwich Hospital by its Governor, Admiral Sir Hugh Palliser, an example of the able but not especially well connected men to whom Sandwich gave patronage. In 1780 Sandwich appointed him Governor at Greenwich. This painting was Palliser's public tribute of thanks to Sandwich.
Title
John Montagu (1718–1792), 4th Earl of Sandwich, 1st Lord of the Admiralty
Date
1783
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 23.2 x W 15.1 cm
Accession number
BHC3009
Acquisition method
National Maritime Museum (Greenwich Hospital Collection)
Work type
Painting
National Maritime Museum
Romney Road, Greenwich, London, Greater London SE10 9NF England
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