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Notes

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The Old Royal Library of the Sovereigns of England having been given to the British Museum by George II, his successor, the scholarly George III, was determined to build up his own library worthy of a monarch. Barnard, who joined the royal household in the mid 1760s and in 1774 was appointed Librarian, has been described as the 'true creator of the King’s Library'. In 1823 George IV offered the library to the nation. It was allocated by Parliament to the British Museum and funds were provided for a new building. Barnard oversaw the transfer and, although never a member of the Museum staff, received a Museum pension on his retirement in 1829. The portrait, in which the sitter wears the insignia of the Royal Guelphic Order, was presented by his great-great-granddaughter.

British Museum

London

Title

Sir Frederick Augusta Barnard (1743–1830), Librarian to George III

Date

c.1823

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 123.2 x W 100 cm

Accession number

Painting.43

Acquisition method

gift from a descendant, Mrs L. A. Johnson, 1926; on loan to the British Library, since 1990

Work type

Painting

British Museum

Great Russell Street, London, Greater London WC1B 3DG England

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Artist or maker

John Prescott Knight

1803–1881

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General Sir George Murray (1772–1846), GCB English Heritage, The Wellington Collection, Apsley House
Henry Philpotts (1778–1869), Fellow (1795–1828), Bishop of Exeter (1831–1869) Magdalen College, University of Oxford
Sir Walter Scott Seated at a Table Abbotsford House
Sir William Bodkin The Supreme Court, Middlesex Guildhall Art Collection
Sir Frederick Augusta Barnard (1743–1830), Librarian to George III British Museum
Robert Keate (1777–1857) Hunterian Museum
Sir Samuel Bignold (1791–1875), Mayor of Norwich (1833, 1848, 1853 & 1872) Norwich Civic Portrait Collection, Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery
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