William Pitt
Gainsborough Dupont·1787/1796
Historical Context
Gainsborough Dupont, Thomas Gainsborough's nephew and studio assistant, painted this portrait of William Pitt the Younger between 1787 and 1796, during the period when Pitt was serving as Prime Minister for the first time. Pitt the Younger was the dominant political figure of his age, entering office at twenty-four in 1783 and guiding Britain through the turbulent years of the American aftermath and the opening of the French Revolutionary crisis. Dupont was among the painters who competed for the patronage Pitt's fame generated: numerous portraits were produced as the basis for prints distributed to a public hungry for images of their political leaders. Dupont's style closely follows his uncle's manner, and portraits of this type functioned as much as public relations documents as works of fine art, circulating Pitt's image across the country through engraving.
Technical Analysis
Dupont replicates Gainsborough's characteristic manner — feathery brushwork, a warm slightly muted palette, the face emerging from loosely painted coat and cravat. The composition is conventional, a three-quarter turn with a dark atmospheric ground. The likeness captures something of Pitt's reported severity of manner.
Provenance
Perhaps purchased by (A. Betts) at an unidentified sale prior to 14 February 1930.[1] (M. Knoedler & Co.), New York, who sold it 1930 to Andrew W. Mellon, Pittsburgh and Washington, who gave it to his daughter, Ailsa Mellon Bruce, New York, by 1937; by bequest to NGA, 1970. [1] According to Knoedler's stock books, recorded by The Provenance Index, J. Paul Getty Trust, Santa Monica, California.
