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Identification and Creation

Object Number
P17
People
Joseph Wilton, British (London, England 1722 - 1803 London, England)
William Pitt (1708 - 1778)
Title
William Pitt, Earl of Chatham (1708-1778)
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
bust, sculpture
Date
1766-1769
Places
Creation Place: Europe, United Kingdom
Culture
British
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304510

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Composite ceramic
Dimensions
68 x 42 x 19 cm (26 3/4 x 16 9/16 x 7 1/2 in.)
socle: 10.8 × 20.3 × 20.3 cm (4 1/4 × 8 × 8 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: back, incised, English: Wm. Pitt / Earl of Chatham

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Dr. Benjamin Franklin, Philadelphia, gift; to Harvard University, 1769

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard University Portrait Collection, Gift of Dr. Benjamin Franklin, 1769
Accession Year
1773
Object Number
P17
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Louise Todd Ambler, Early Science at Harvard: Innovators and Their Instruments, 1765 - 1865, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, December 1969-January 1970), p. 13
  • H. Wade White, "Nineteenth Century American Sculpture at Harvard, a Glance at the Collection", Harvard Library Bulletin (Cambridge, MA, October 1970), vol. XVIII, no. 4, p. 359
  • Louise Todd Ambler, Benjamin Franklin: A Perspective, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1975), no. 33, ill. p. 68
  • Sandra Grindlay, "Harvard's Portraits: An American Treasure", Harvard University Art Museums Review (Fall 1992), vol. II, no. 1, pp. 6-7, p. 6
  • John T. Bethell, Richard M. Hunt, and Robert Shenton, Harvard A to Z, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA, 2004), p. 276
  • "A Layered History", Index Magazine, Harvard Art Museums (September 19, 2017), repr., https://www.harvardartmuseums.org/article/a-layered-history, accessed October 19, 2017
  • Jonathan Shaw and Jennifer Carling, "The Lost Museum: Teachings of the Philosophy Chamber, Recreated", Harvard Magazine (Cambridge, MA, 2017), pp. 42-49, p. 43
  • Tony Sigel, Claire Grech, and Katherine Eremin, Harvard’s First Sculpture, The Philosophy Chamber: Art and Science in Harvard’s Teaching Cabinet, 1766–1820, ed. Ethan Lasser, Harvard Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 2017), Pages 236-248, Figure 1, Page 238; Page 2, Page 239; Figure 3, Page 240; Figure 4, Page 240; Figure 5a/b, Page 241; Figure 6, Page 242; Figure 7, Page 242; Figure 8, Page 243; Figure 9, Page 243; Figure 10a-c Page 244; Figure 11, Page 245; Figure 12, Page 245
  • Ethan Lasser, ed., The Philosophy Chamber: Art and Science in Harvard’s Teaching Cabinet, 1766–1820, exh. cat., Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2017), p. 79, plate 15; p. 47 in María Dolores Sánchez-Jáuregui's "A Repository of Gifts"; pp. 236-248. Figs. 1-4 and 7 (details), 5, 8-12 (technical exam images) in Anthony Sigel, Claire Grech, and Katherine Eremine's "Harvard's First Sculpture"
  • Brian D. Gallagher, Classic Black: The Basalt Sculpture of Wedgwood and His Contemporaries, exh. cat., The Mint Museum (Charlotte, 2020), pp. 45-46, repr. p. 46 as fig. 24

Exhibition History

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Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu