David Garrick

Awe-struck by Garrick's portrayal of Richard III, the poet Alexander Pope (Wikipedia entry) penned the lines "that young man never had his equal and will never have a rival". David Garrick (1717-79) was the most celebrated actor of his age. Champion of Shakespeare, Garrick immortalised himself in the roles of King Lear, Hamlet and Macbeth. Regarded by Fielding as "in tragedy to be the greatest genius the world hath ever produced", Garrick was equally accomplished in comic roles.

Manager of the Drury Lane Theatre, write, bibliophile and patron, Garrick was perhaps the first actor to be accepted into intellectual and aristocratic circles. He counted the Burlingtons, the Devonshires, the Burneys, Johnson, Burke, Pope, Hogarth and Zoffany amongst his varied circle of friends.

This naively charming portrait, by an unknown amateur artist, depicts Garrick with a bust of William Shakespeare. The distinctive Palladian bridge in the background still stands in the gardens at Prior Park near Bath, then home of Garrick's friend Bishop Warburton. This work is a copy of the portrait of Garrick commissioned Gainsborough to paint in 1766. The painting was later reworked for the 1769 Shakespeare Jubilee, a nationwide celebration of the bard organised by Garrick, which cemented Shakespeare's reputation as the national playwright of England. Sadly the original was destroyed by a fire at Stratford Town Hall in 1946. The work has survived in the famous engraving by Valentine Green, which could have been the basis for our copy.

Garrick was one of the most depicted men of his day. Out of the many portraits painted of the actor, Mrs Garrick considered Gainsborough's to be the best likeness of her husband.

Garrick's friend flocked to his Adam-fronted villa at Hampton. Samuel Johnson, Garrick's former tutor remarked: "It is the leaving of such places that makes a death-bed terrible". The lawn of this Thames-side retreat is still graced by a simple temple to Shakespeare, built in 1755. It has been recently restored and is open to the public during the summer months.