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Edmund Law, Bishop of Carlisle
(1771-1773)
Medium
oil on canvas on wood panel
Measurements
127.8 × 102.0 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1920
Gallery location
17th to 18th Century European Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
Edmund Law (1703–87), born at Cartmel, Lancashire, was educated at St John’s College, Cambridge. He became Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge in 1754 and was appointed Bishop of Carlisle in 1769. He was the author of Considerations of the Theory of Religion (1749), The Life of John Locke (1777) and other publications. This formal portrait was painted for the sitter’s eldest son, Dr John Law, Bishop of Clonfert. A native of Lancashire, the artist, George Romney, moved to London in 1762, where he rose to prominence as a portrait painter, at the height of his career rivalling Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough.
Artwork Details
Accession Number
1048-3
Department
International Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Subjects (general)
Human Figures Religion and Mythology
Subjects (specific)
bishops (prelates) black (colour) Law, Edmund men (male humans) robes (main garments) seated figures sleeves (costume) white (colour)