John Wilkes Esqr.
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Mrs. George A. Kubler
Accession Number
1949-152-108
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
This 1763 print by Samuel Ireland portrays John Wilkes, the outspoken English politician and journalist whose defiant stands against government overreach made him a symbol of liberty in the 1760s. Ireland, an English printmaker active in the mid-eighteenth century, created the work at a pivotal moment when Wilkes faced arrest and prosecution for criticizing King George III in his newspaper, the North Briton. The image thus captures both a likeness of a controversial public figure and the era’s growing tension between authority and free expression. As a print, the work belongs to a medium that...