William Pitt the Younger (1759–1806)

William Pitt the Younger from around 1784 by John Hoppner is yet another portrait of the dominant political figure of late Georgian Britain. As Principal Painter to the Prince of Wales, Hoppner produced numerous portraits of political figures connected to the prince's circle and the wider political establishment. Characteristic of the artist's mature approach, the work displays fluent, confident brushwork in the tradition of Reynolds, with a warm atmospheric palette and a gift for flattering likenesses that retained individual character.

The portrait of the prime minister demonstrates Hoppner's fluid, atmospheric approach to political portraiture, rendering Pitt's features with the broad handling that was his hallmark.