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Sir William James, Baronet

August 2, 1782

Not on view

This three-quarter length portrait shows a commodore in the East India Company in naval uniform standing by the sea and holding a printed view of a coastline. Sir William James was commanded the company's marine forces from 1751 and famously defeated the pirate Angria in 1755. After returning to England, he became governor of Greenwich Hospital and then Chairman of the East India Company in 1779. The related portrait by Reynolds was destroyed in World War II.

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Title: Sir William James, Baronet

Engraver: John Raphael Smith (British, baptized Derby 1751–1812 Doncaster)

Artist: After Sir Joshua Reynolds (British, Plympton 1723–1792 London)

Publisher: John Raphael Smith (British, baptized Derby 1751–1812 Doncaster)

Sitter: Sir William James (British, ca. 1721–1783)

Date: August 2, 1782

Medium: Mezzotint; second state of two

Dimensions: Plate: 18 × 12 15/16 in. (45.7 × 32.8 cm)
Sheet: 19 3/16 × 14 3/16 in. (48.8 × 36 cm)

Classification: Prints

Credit Line: Gift of Georgiana W. Sargent, in memory of John Osborne Sargent, 1924

Accession Number: 24.63.99

Chronology

Great Britain and Ireland, 1600-1800 A.D.

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Sir William James, Baronet

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