The Irish House of Commons, 1780.

Wheatley painted the Irish House of Commons in 1780, documenting one of the most politically significant assemblies of the era. The Irish Parliament was asserting its independence from Westminster, a movement that would culminate in the granting of legislative independence in 1782. Wheatley's painting records the physical setting and many of the leading political figures of this transformative moment in Irish history.

Wheatley captures the parliamentary chamber with careful attention to architectural detail and individual portrait likenesses. The composition manages the challenge of depicting a large deliberative assembly while maintaining the visual interest of the architectural setting.