Credit: ©The Royal Society
Image number: RS.1748
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Portrait of William Herschel
Date
1912
Sitter
William Herschel (1738 - 1822, German-British) , Astronomer
After
William Artaud (1763 - 1823, British) , Artist
Object type
Image reference
Material
Technique
Dimensions
height (print): 314mm
width (print): 255mm
width (print): 255mm
Subject
Description
Head and shoulders portrait of Sir William Herschel, aged c.81 years. The sitter looks toward the viewer’s left and wears a medal and ribbon on his left breast [Herschel was appointed a Knight of the Royal Guelphic Order in 1816]
Inscribed: “Sir William Herschel From an oil painting by Artaud 1819. In the possession of Sir W.J. Herschel, Bart.”
Sir William Herschel (1738 – 1822), German-British astronomer, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1781 and was awarded the Copley Medal the same year.
Inscribed: “Sir William Herschel From an oil painting by Artaud 1819. In the possession of Sir W.J. Herschel, Bart.”
Sir William Herschel (1738 – 1822), German-British astronomer, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1781 and was awarded the Copley Medal the same year.
Transcription
Sir William Herschel From an oil painting by Artaud 1819. In the possession of Sir W.J. Herschel, Bart
Object history
Commissioned for The scientific papers of Sir William Herschel...edited under the direction of a joint committee of the Royal Society and the Royal Astronomical Society (London, Royal Society and RAS, 1912). This print appeared as the frontispiece for volume 2. The original picture was commissioned by Sir J.F.W.Herschel for his aunt, Caroline Herschel. A letter from the artist can be found in the Royal Society’s Herschel correspondence, HS/1/413, W.Artuad, 29 January 1819, to Sir John Herschel.
Associated place