The Right Honourable William Pitt Esqr. one of His Majesty's Principal Secretary's of State

Hoare, William, after

Hand-coloured mezzotint portrait on paper of William Pitt the Elder (1708-1778), 1st Earl of Chatham, published by Robert Sayer (1725-1794) in London after 1754. The engraver’s name is not included but is possibly Richard Purcell (fl. 1746-1768) who produced numerous copies of mezzotints for Sayer, often under a pseudonym. The print is a copy of a painting by William Hoare of Bath (1707-1792) who made several copies of this portrait, including one in the National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG 1050) and another in the North Carolina Museum of Art. A larger, expanded version of the portrait in the National Trust Collections (Ickworth) includes portraits of Lord John Augustus Hervey and his father Frederick Augustus Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol and Bishop of Derry. The colours added to this print match the paintings.