The Right Hon. George Grenville MP (1712-1770)

Reynolds painted George Grenville around 1767, depicting the politician who had served as Prime Minister from 1763 to 1765 and whose Stamp Act of 1765 lit the fuse of the American Revolution. Grenville imposed the Stamp Act as a revenue measure to fund the defense of the American colonies after the Seven Years' War — a logical position, he believed, given that Britain had incurred enormous debt defending American interests. The colonists' resistance, grounded in the principle of no taxation without representation, exposed the constitutional fault line that would eventually rupture the British Atlantic empire. Grenville was dismissed by George III in 1765 — the king found him insufferably pedantic — and the Stamp Act was repealed the following year, but the damage was done. Reynolds's 1767 portrait was painted two years after Grenville left office, capturing the ex-Prime Minister as a private individual rather than a serving statesman. The painting now in a National Trust property documents one of the figures whose policy decisions, more than any other British politician, set the conditions for American independence.

The formal portrait presents the statesman with political authority. Reynolds's Grand Manner handling creates an image of parliamentary leadership.