Marquis Cornwallis

Publisher G. Cawthorn British
June 30, 1800
Not on view
This bust-length portrait within an oval shows the subject's body facing left, his head turned towards the viewer. He wears a military jacket with a fringed epaulette, a white ruffled shirt and a short wig. At this date Cornwallis was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. In 1798 he had led the response to an Irish rebellion and French invasion and in 1800 negotiated the Act of Union which, when passed by the Parliament of Ireland, established the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Together with prime minister William Pitt, Cornwallis recognized that the Union was unlikely to succeed unless accompanied by Catholic Emancipation, George III refused to support the latter. In 1801 Cornwallis resigned his offices and returned to London.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Marquis Cornwallis
  • Artist: Anonymous, British, early 19th century
  • Publisher: G. Cawthorn (London)
  • Sitter: Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquis Cornwallis (British, London 1738–1805 Ghazipur, India)
  • Date: June 30, 1800
  • Medium: Stipple engraving
  • Dimensions: Plate: 5 1/2 × 3 15/16 in. (14 × 10 cm)
    Sheet: 7 3/8 × 4 3/4 in. (18.8 × 12 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Gift of William H. Huntington, 1983
  • Object Number: 83.2.554
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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