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1938-215, Print
The Most Noble Charles Marquis Cornwallis, &c.&c.
1938-215, Print

The Most Noble Charles Marquis Cornwallis, &c.&c.

Date1798
Publisher
After work by
Engraver
OriginEngland, London
MediumStipple and line engraving on laid paper
DimensionsOverall: 19 1/8 × 13 5/8 in (48.58 × 34.61cm)
Credit LineGift of the Vestry of Bruton Parish Church
Object number1938-215
DescriptionThe lower margin reads: "The Most Noble Charles Marquis Cornwallis, &c.&c./ Painted by I.S. Copley R.A./ Engraved by Benj. Smith./ Master General of the Ordnance,/ Lieut.t General, & General Governor of his Majesty's Kingdom of Ireland./ From the Original Picture in Guildhall, presented to the Corporation of London, by Alderman Boydell./ Pub Sept. 1. 1798, by J. & J. BOYDELL, N.o 90. Cheapside; And at the Shakspeare Gallery, Pall-Mall."Label TextGeneral Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquis and 3rd Earl Cornwallis was a British army officer who commanded British forces during the War of American Independence (1776-1781). After surrendering at Yorktown, he returned to England in 1782 where he in 1786 Cornwallis was appointed Governor-General of Bengal and Commander-in-chief of British forces in India. His administrative reforms and consolidation of British control in southern India, as well as military successes during the Third Anglo-Mysore War earned him the title of Marquess. The City of London commissioned John Singleton Copley to paint this portrait of Cornwallis set against an Indian landscape a fort, riders on elephants, and troops.ProvenanceBefore 1938, Vestry of Bruton Parish Church (Williamsburg, VA); 1938-present, given to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).