ARTWORKS

Dr John Wolcott ('Peter Pindar') (1738–1819)

John Opie (1761–1807)

Royal Cornwall Museum

Dr John Wolcott ('Peter Pindar') (1738–1819)

Image credit: Royal Institution of Cornwall

How you can use this image

 

This image is available to be shared and re-used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial licence (CC BY-NC).

This image can be reproduced in any way apart from any commercial uses.

Wherever you reproduce the image or an altered version of it, you must attribute the original creators (acknowledge the original artist(s), the person/organisation that took the photograph of the work) and any other stated rights holders.

Review our guidance pages which explain how you can reuse images, how to credit an image and how to find more images in the public domain or with a Creative Commons licence available.

Download
More information

Notes

Add or edit a note on this artwork that only you can see. You can find notes again by going to the ‘Notes’ section of your account.

Dr John Wolcott was apprenticed to his uncle, a surgeon at Fowey, before attending Aberdeen University. In 1768, aged 29, he went with his patron Sir William Trelawny to Jamaica where he became Physician General in 1769 and was also ordained deacon. In 1773 he returned to England and began practising medicine in Truro. He was also a satirical poet writing under the name of Peter Pindar whose wit and sarcasm did not endear him to many of his townspeople. He was an amateur artist who had been a pupil under Richard Wilson. He became an early patron of Opie. This is one of about ten portraits that Opie painted of the doctor, who was also depicted together with Opie himself, as one of the assassins in his painting 'The Murder of James I', evidently as a personal joke between them.

Royal Cornwall Museum

Truro

Title

Dr John Wolcott ('Peter Pindar') (1738–1819)

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 74.5 x W 62 cm

Accession number

TRURI : 1925.119

Acquisition method

gift, 1925

Work type

Painting

Tags

See a tag that’s incorrect or offensive? Challenge it and notify Art UK.

Help improve Art UK. Tag artworks and verify existing tags by joining the Tagger community.

Learn more Tag this

Royal Cornwall Museum

River Street, Truro, Cornwall TR1 2SJ England

This venue is open to the public. Not all artworks are on display. If you want to see a particular artwork, please contact the venue.
View venue

Artist or maker

John Opie

1761–1807

View profile
  • Self Portrait
    Self Portrait St Agnes Museum
  • Sir Simon Le Blanc (1748/1749–1816), Fellow (1779–1799)
    Sir Simon Le Blanc (1748/1749–1816), Fellow (1779–1799) Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge
  • Portrait of a Boy in a Top Hat with Flies
    Portrait of a Boy in a Top Hat with Flies Victoria and Albert Museum
  • The Cornish Girl
    The Cornish Girl Watford Museum
  • Amelia Alderson Opie (1769–1853), Writer, the Artist's Second Wife
    Amelia Alderson Opie (1769–1853), Writer, the Artist's Second Wife Chawton House Library
  • Shute Barrington (1734–1826)
    Shute Barrington (1734–1826) Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
  • Philip Champion de Crespigny (1738–1803), MP
    Philip Champion de Crespigny (1738–1803), MP Kelmarsh Hall
  • 194 more

Topics