William Godwin
(1756-1836), Philosopher and novelistRegency Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter in 13 portraits
Philosopher and novelist, Godwin was arguably the most famous English writer of the revolutionary period and the leading radical spokesman. In the Enquiry concerning Political Justice (1793) he detailed his optimistic belief that if human reason could be 'perfected' this would allow authoritarian laws and institutions to be overturned. Despite being ideologically opposed to marriage, he married the feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft in 1797 when she was pregnant with their daughter, the future Mary Shelley. Godwin had a powerful influence on the Romantic poets, especially William Wordsworth and Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Thomas Holcroft; William Godwin
by Sir Thomas Lawrence
pencil with black and red chalk, 1794
NPG 6880
by James Northcote
oil on canvas, 1802
NPG 1236
by Henry William Pickersgill
oil on canvas, feigned oval, 1830
NPG 411
by William Brockedon
pencil and white and red chalk, 1832
NPG 2515(29)
by James Gillray, published by John Wright
etching, published 1 August 1798
NPG D13093
by James Gillray, published by John Wright
hand-coloured etching, published 1 August 1798
NPG D13094
by George Dawe, after James Northcote
mezzotint, (1802)
NPG D8387
by and published by George Dawe, after James Northcote
mezzotint, published 4 October 1802 (1802)
NPG D8414
by William Ridley, published by Vernor & Hood, after Sir Thomas Lawrence
stipple engraving, published 31 January 1805
NPG D15558
by Miss Roberts, after Thomas Kearsley
stipple engraving, published 1821
NPG D2789
by George Dawe, published by Francis Graves & Co, and published by James Macrone, after James Northcote
mezzotint, published 1 June 1836 (1802)
NPG D8415
by Daniel Maclise, published by James Fraser
lithograph, published 1873
NPG D15559
Related People
- Mary Jane Godwin (wife)
- Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (daughter)
- Sir Percy Florence Shelley, 3rd Bt (grandson)
- Mary Wollstonecraft (wife)
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