Her most excellent Majesty Charlotte, Queen of Great Britain

Frye, Thomas, after · 1762

Mezzotint portrait on paper of Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1744-1818), Queen of Great Britain and wife of King George III, engraved by Richard Purcell (fl. 1746-1766) in London in 1762. State before publication details added. Close copy of a mezzotint made by Thomas Frye (1710-1762) shortly after the marriage of Charlotte and George in September 1761. Frye produced three similar mezzotint portraits of the queen. Most copies were based on this composition, with her right arm at her side, including mezzotints by Richard Houston (c.1721-1755) and James Watson (1740-1790). After working in Dublin for a number of years, Irish artist Purcell moved to London were he primarily made mezzotints for print-seller Robert Sayer (1725-1794), mostly copies of prints by other engravers. Many of his prints are signed Chas. Corbutt or C. Corbutt, an alias adopted on account of his financial difficulties.