NationMaster - Encyclopedia: James Gillray

James Gillray, sometimes spelled Gilray (born August 13, 1757 in Chelsea; died June 1, 1815), was a British caricaturist and printmaker famous for his etched political and social satires, mainly published between 1792 and 1810. Download high resolution version (650x769, 83 KB)This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Download high resolution version (650x769, 83 KB)This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... August 13 is the 225th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (226th in leap years), with 140 days remaining. ... 1757 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Statue of Thomas More on Cheyne Walk. ... June 1 is the 152nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (153rd in leap years), with 213 days remaining. ... April 5-12: Mount Tambora explodes, changing climate. ... A caricaturist is an artist who specializes in drawing caricatures. ... Printmaking is a process for producing a work of art in ink; the work (called a print) is created indirectly, through the transfer of ink from the surface upon which the work was originally drawn or otherwise composed. ... Etching is an intaglio method of printmaking in which the image is incised into the surface of a metal plate using an acid. ... 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

Early life

His father, a native of Lanark, had served as a soldier, losing an arm at the Battle of Fontenoy, and was admitted, first as an inmate, and afterwards as an outdoor pensioner, at Chelsea Hospital. Gillray commenced life by learning letter-engraving, at which he soon became an adept. This employment, however, proving irksome, he wandered about for a time with a company of strolling players. After a very checkered experience he returned to London and was admitted a student in the Royal Academy, supporting himself by engraving, and probably issuing a considerable number of caricatures under fictitious names. His caricatures are almost all in etching, some also with aquatint, and a few using stipple technique. None can correctly be described as engravings, although this term is often loosely or ignorantly used of them. Hogarth's works were the delight and study of his early years. "Paddy on Horseback," which appeared in 1779, is the first caricature which is certainly his. Two caricatures on Rodney's naval victory, issued in 1782, were among the first of the memorable series of his political sketches. This article describes the town in Scotland. ... Combatants Britain United Provinces Hanover France Commanders Duke of Cumberland Maurice, comte de Saxe Strength 48,000 30,000 Casualties 2,500 dead 5,000 wounded or captured 2,300 dead 5,000 wounded This battle should not be confused with the two battles of Fontenay, which occurred at a... Figure Court of Royal Hospital Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home and nursing home for British soldiers who are unfit for further duty due to injury or old age, located in the Chelsea region of central London. ... This article refers to an art institution in London. ... Etching is an intaglio method of printmaking in which the image is incised into the surface of a metal plate using an acid. ... Aquatint is an intaglio printmaking technique. ... An example of stippling in a biological illustration. ... Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. ... William Hogarth (November 10, 1697 â€“ October 26, 1764) was a major English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, and editorial cartoonist who has been credited as a pioneer in western sequential art. ... Admiral Lord George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, 1719–1792 by Jean-Laurent Mosnier, painted 1791, George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney (February 1718 – May 24, 1792), was a British naval officer. ...

Adult life

The name of Gillray's publisher and printseller, Miss Hannah Humphrey--whose shop was first at 227 Strand, then in New Bond Street, then in Old Bond Street, and finally in St James's Street--is inextricably associated with that of the caricaturist himself. Gillray lived with Miss (often called Mrs) Humphrey during the entire period of his fame. It is believed that he several times thought of marrying her, and that on one occasion the pair were on their way to the church, when Gillray said: "This is a foolish affair, methinks, Miss Humphrey. We live very comfortably together; we had better let well alone." There is no evidence, however, to support the stories which scandalmongers invented about their relations. Gillray's plates were exposed in Humphrey's shop window, where eager crowds examined them. One of his later prints, "Very Slippy Weather" shows Miss Humphrey's shop in St. James's Street in the background. In the shop window a number of Gillray's previously published prints, such as "Tiddy-Doll the Great French Gingerbread Maker, Drawing Out a New Batch of Kings; His Man, Talley Mixing up the Dough," a wonderful satire on Napoleon's king-making proclivities, are shown in the shop window. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (650x845, 199 KB)Very Slippy Weather by James Gillray. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (650x845, 199 KB)Very Slippy Weather by James Gillray. ... Look up Strand in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Bond Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. ... An arcade in Old Bond Street Bond Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London which runs through Mayfair from Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. ... View of Clarendon House, now demolished, which used to face south down St James Street. ... For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ...

Gillray and the Art of Caricature

A number of his most trenchant satires are directed against George III, who, after examining some of Gillray's sketches, said, with characteristic ignorance and blindness to merit, "I don't understand these caricatures." Gillray revenged himself for this utterance by his splendid caricature entitled, "A Connoisseur Examining a Cooper," which he is doing by means of a candle on a "save-all"; so that the sketch satirizes at once the king's pretensions to knowledge of art and his miserly habits. James Gillray, Promisd Horrors of the French Invasion, -or- Forcible Reasons for Negociating a Regicide Peace, a print. ... James Gillray, Promisd Horrors of the French Invasion, -or- Forcible Reasons for Negociating a Regicide Peace, a print. ... George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 1738 â€“ 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. ...

The excesses of the French Revolution made Gillray conservative; and he issued caricature after caricature ridiculing the French and Napoleon (usually using Jacobin), and glorifying John Bull, He is not, however, to be thought of as a keen political adherent of either the Whig or the Tory party; he dealt his blows pretty freely all round. His last work, from a design by Bunbury, is entitled "Interior of a Barber's Shop in Assize Time," and is dated 1811. While he was engaged on it he became mad, although he had occasional intervals of sanity, which he employed on his last work. The approach of madness must have been hastened by his intemperate habits. Gillray died on the 1st of June 1815, and was buried in St James's churchyard, Piccadilly. i heart kate young The French Revolution was a period of major political and social change in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to... For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ... In the context of the French Revolution, a Jacobin originally meant a member of the Jacobin Club (1789-1794), but even at that time, the term Jacobins had been popularly applied to all promulgators of extreme revolutionary opinions: for example, Jacobin democracy is synonymous with totalitarian democracy. ... World War I recruiting poster John Bull is a national personification of the Kingdom of Great Britain created by Dr. John Arbuthnot in 1712, and popularized first by British print makers and then overseas by illustrators and writers such as American cartoonist Thomas Nast and Irish writer George Bernard Shaw... The Whigs (with the Tories) are often described as one of two political parties in England and later the United Kingdom from the late 17th to the mid 19th centuries. ... The term Tory (from Irish Gaelic tÃ³raighe, an outlaw or guerrilla fighter, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms â€” literally meaning pursued man) applied to the Tory Party, the ancestor of the modern UK Conservative Party. ... Henry William Bunbury (1750 - 1811), was an English caricaturist. ... 1811 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Piccadilly is a major London street, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. ...

The times in which Gillray lived were peculiarly favourable to the growth of a great school of caricature. Party warfare was carried on with great vigour and not a little bitterness; and personalities were freely indulged in on both sides. Gillray's incomparable wit and humour, knowledge of life, fertility of resource, keen sense of the ludicrous, and beauty of execution, at once gave him the first place among caricaturists. He is honourably distinguished in the history of caricature by the fact that his sketches are real works of art. The ideas embodied in some of them are sublime and poetically magnificent in their intensity of meaning, while the forthrightness - which some have called coarseness - which others display is characteristic of the general freedom of treatment common in all intellectual departments in the 18th century. The historical value of Gillray's work has been recognized by many discerning students of history. As has been well remarked: "Lord Stanhope has turned Gillray to account as a veracious reporter of speeches, as well as a suggestive illustrator of events." (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope (August 3, 1753 â€“ December 15, 1816) was a British statesman and scientist. ...

His contemporary political influence is borne witness to in a letter from Lord Bateman, dated November 3, 1798. "The Opposition," he writes to Gillray, "are as low as we can wish them. You have been of infinite service in lowering them, and making them ridiculous." Gillray's extraordinary industry may be inferred from the fact that nearly 1000 caricatures have been attributed to him; while some consider him the author of as many as 1600 or 1700. He is as invaluable to the student of English manners as to the political student, attacking the social follies of the time with scathing satire; and nothing escapes his notice, not even a trifling change of fashion in dress. The great tact Gillray displays in hitting on the ludicrous side of any subject is only equalled by the exquisite finish of his sketches--the finest of which reach an epic grandeur and Miltonic sublimity of conception. November 3 is the 307th day of the year (308th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 58 days remaining. ... 1798 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... For other persons named John Milton, see John Milton (disambiguation). ...

Gillray's caricatures are generally divided into two classes, the political series and the social, though it is important not to attribute to the term "series" any concept of continuity or completeness. The political caricatures comprise an important and invaluable component of the history extant of the latter part of the reign of George III. They were circulated not only in Britain but also throughout Europe, and exerted a powerful influence both in Britain and abroad. In the political prints, George III, George's wife Queen Charlotte, the Prince of Wales (later Prince Regent, then King George IV), Fox, Pitt the Younger, Burke and Napoleon Bonaparte are the most prominent figures. In 1788 appeared two fine caricatures by Gillray. "Blood on Thunder fording the Red Sea" represents Lord Thurlow carrying Warren Hastings through a sea of gore: Hastings looks very comfortable, and is carrying two large bags of money. "Market-Day" pictures the ministerialists of the time as cattle for sale. Image File history File links James_Gillray_Monstrous_Craws. ... Image File history File links James_Gillray_Monstrous_Craws. ... Etching is an intaglio method of printmaking in which the image is incised into the surface of a metal plate using an acid. ... Aquatint is an intaglio printmaking technique. ... George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 1738 â€“ 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. ... Queen Charlotte, (nÃ©e Duchess Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, 19 May 1744 â€“ 17 November 1818) was the queen consort of George III of the United Kingdom (1738â€“20). ... George IV (George Augustus Frederick) (12 August 1762 â€“ 26 June 1830) was king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death. ... Prince Regent (or Prince Regnant, as a direct borrowing from French language) is a prince who rules a country instead of a sovereign, e. ... George IV (George Augustus Frederick) (12 August 1762 â€“ 26 June 1830) was king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death. ... Charles James Fox Statue of Charles James Fox in Bloomsbury Square, erected 1816. ... William Pitt the Younger (28 May 1759 â€“ 23 January 1806) was a British politician of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. ... Edmund Burke (12 January 1729 â€“ 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist, and philosopher, who served for many years in the British House of Commons as a member of the Whig party. ... Bonaparte as general Napoleon Bonaparte ( 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general of the French Revolution and was the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from November 11, 1799 to May 18, 1804, then as Emperor of the French (Empereur des... 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow (9 December 1731â€“12 September 1806), Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, was born at Bracon Ash, in the county of Norfolk. ... Warren Hastings (December 6, 1732 - August 22, 1818) was the first governor-general of British India, from 1773 to 1786. ...

Among Gillray's best satires on George III are: "Farmer George and his Wife," two companion plates, in one of which the king is toasting muffins for breakfast, and in the other the queen is frying sprats; "The Anti-Saccharites," where the royal pair propose to dispense with sugar, to the great horror of the family; "A Connoisseur Examining a Cooper"; the paired plates "A Voluptuary under the Horrors of Digestion" and "Temperance enjoying a Frugal Meal", satirising the excesses of the Prince Regent (later George IV of the United Kingdom) and the miserliness of his father, George III of the United Kingdom respectively; "Royal Affability"; "A Lesson in Apple Dumplings"; and "The Pigs Possessed." Among his other political caricatures may be mentioned: "Britannia between Scylla and Charybdis," a picture in which Pitt, so often Gillray's butt, figures in a favourable light; "The Bridal Night"; "The Apotheosis of Hoche," which concentrates the excesses of the French Revolution in one view; "The Nursery with Britannia reposing in Peace"; "The First Kiss these Ten Years" (1803), another satire on the peace, which is said to have greatly amused Napoleon; "The Handwriting upon the Wall"; "The Confederated Coalition," a swipe at the coalition which superseded the Addington ministry; "Uncorking Old Sherry"; "The Plumb-Pudding in Danger" (probably the best known political print ever published); "Making Decent," i.e. "Broad-bottomites getting into the Grand Costume"; "Comforts of a Bed of Roses"; "View of the Hustings in Covent Garden"; "Phaethon Alarmed"; and "Pandora opening her Box". Image File history File links Gillray_Voluptuary_051126. ... Image File history File links Gillray_Voluptuary_051126. ... Image File history File links Gillray_Temperance_051126. ... Image File history File links Gillray_Temperance_051126. ... George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 1738 â€“ 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. ... Prince Regent (or Prince Regnant, as a direct borrowing from French language) is a prince who rules a country instead of a sovereign, e. ... George IV (George Augustus Frederick) (12 August 1762 â€“ 26 June 1830) was king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death. ... George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 1738 â€“ 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. ...

As well as being blatant in his observations, Gillray could be incredibly subtle, and puncture vanity with a remarkably deft approach. The outstanding example of this is his print "Fashionable Contrasts - or - the Duchess's little shoe yeilding to the magnitude of the Duke's foot". This was a devastating image aimed at the ridiculous sycophancy directed by the press towards Frederica Charlotte Ulrica, Duchess of York, and the supposed daintiness of her feet. The print showed only the feet and ankles of the Duke and Duchess of York, in an obviously copulatory position, with the Duke's feet enlarged and the Duchess's feet drawn very small. This print silenced forever the sycophancy of the press regarding the union of the Duke and Duchess (though unfortunately such press toadying was to be revived in the late 20th century with the marriage of the Charles, Prince of Wales to Lady Diana, soon to become Diana, Princess of Wales). The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor; born Windsor, 14 November 1948), is the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. ... Diana, Princess of Wales (Diana Frances Mountbatten-Windsor, née Spencer) (1 July 1961–31 August 1997), commonly, but incorrectly, known as Princess Diana, was for fifteen years the wife of HRH The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales. ... Diana, Princess of Wales (Diana Frances Mountbatten-Windsor; nÃ©e Spencer; 1 July 1961 â€“ 31 August 1997) was the first wife of Charles, the Prince of Wales, eldest son and heir apparent of Elizabeth II. Her two sons, Princes William and Harry, are second and third, respectively, in line to...

The miscellaneous series of caricatures, although they have scarcely the historical importance of the political series, are more readily intelligible, and are even more amusing. Among the finest are: "Shakespeare Sacrificed"; "Flemish Characters" (two plates); "Two-Penny Whist" (which features an image of Hannah Humphrey); "Oh that this too solid flesh would melt"; "Sandwich Carrots"; "The Gout"; "Comfort to the Corns"; "Begone Dull Care"; "The Cow-Pock," which gives humorous expression to the popular dread of vaccination; "Dilletanti Theatricals"; and "Harmony before Matrimony" and "Matrimonial Harmonics"--two exceedingly good sketches in violent contrast to each other. Image File history File links Fashionable Contrasts - or - the Duchesss little shoe yeilding to the magnitude of the Dukes foot by James Gillray. ... Image File history File links Fashionable Contrasts - or - the Duchesss little shoe yeilding to the magnitude of the Dukes foot by James Gillray. ... Vaccination is the process of administering weakened or dead pathogens to a healthy person or animal, with the intent of conferring immunity against a targeted form of a related disease agent. ...

Famous Editions of Gillray's Works

A selection of Gillray's works appeared in parts in 1818; but the first good edition was Thomas McLean's, which was published with a key, in 1830. A somewhat bitter attack, not only on Gillray's character, but even on his genius, appeared in the Athenaeum for October 1, 1831, which was successfully refuted by John Landseer in the Athenaeum a fortnight later. Image File history File links Doublures_of_character_james_gillray. ... Image File history File links Doublures_of_character_james_gillray. ... October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1851 Henry George Bohn put out an edition, from the original plates in a handsome elephant folio, the coarser sketches -- commonly known as the "Suppressed Plates" -- being published in a separate volume. For this edition Thomas Wright and RH Evans wrote a valuable commentary, which is a good history of the times embraced by the caricatures. Unfortunately, many copies of the Bohn Edition are broken up into individual sheets and passed off as originals to unsuspecting buyers (see "Collecting Gillray's Work" below). Although the two volumes of the Bohn Edition are often represented as being a complete collection of Gillray's works, this is not the case: for example, "Doublures of character - or - Strikeing resemblances in phisiognomy" is not included in either volume. This is most likely because this print was not published by Hannah Humphrey, but by John Wright for the Anti-Jacobin Review and Magazine. Henry George Bohn (January 4, 1796 - August 22, 1884) was a British publisher. ...

The next edition, entitled The Works of James Gillray, the Caricaturist: with the Story of his Life and Times (Chatto & Windus, 1874), was the work of Thomas Wright, and, by its popular exposition and narrative, introduced Gillray to a very large circle formerly ignorant of him. This edition, which is complete in one volume, contains two portraits of Gillray, and upwards of 400 illustrations. Mr JJ Cartwright, in a letter to the Academy (Feb. 28, 1874), drew attention to the existence of a manuscript volume, in the British Museum, containing letters to and from Gillray, and other illustrative documents. The extracts he gave were used in a valuable article in the Quarterly Review for April 1874. See also the Academy for February 21 and May 16, 1874. The centre of the museum was redeveloped in 2000 to become the Great Court, with a tessellated glass roof by Buro Happold and Foster and Partners surrounding the original Reading Room. ... February 21 is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (137th in leap years). ... 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Collecting Gillray's Work

In recent years Gillray's work has become very collectable. Prices had been climbing steadily since the 1970s, but the auction of the Draper Hill Collection at Phillips auctioneers in London in 2001 pushed prices to new highs: several key prints, including "Fashionable Contrasts," fetching more than USD10,000. Three auctions of Caricatures at Bonham's in London, each of which included large selections of Gillray prints, continued this trend. Escalating prices have also meant that good examples of major works by Gillray can be very hard to come by at any price. Unfortunately for the beginning collector this means that starting a collection now is far more difficult than thirty years ago, when a very good copy of "Light Expelling Darkness" could be had for as little as USD250. A good impression of this print sold in 2006 for over USD9,000, while "Fashionable Contrasts" also sold in the same year for over USD20,000. Image File history File links Light_expelling_darkness_james_gillray. ... Image File history File links Light_expelling_darkness_james_gillray. ...

This dramatic increase in prices has also led to unscrupulous sellers attempting to pass off prints from the Bohn Edition as originals, and it can be difficult for those unfamiliar with these practices to tell the difference between a restrike (commonly called "a Bohn") and an original. The key indicators of a print coming from the Bohn Edition are (i) the presence of a number in the top, right-hand corner of the print (the number is most commonly in the image itself, but may be outside in the margin); (ii) the fact that the Bohn edition was issued withour colouring; and (iii) the fact that the strikes for the main published volumes of the Bohn Edition were printed on both sides of the paper (the Bohn Edition of the so-called "Suppressed Plates" was, like the originals, printed on one side of the paper only). However, the fact that a print is single-sided does not mean that it is not a Bohn restrike: there are in existence many Bohns (for example, "Light Expelling Darkness") that bear a number, but which are printed on one side of the paper only. These single-sided numbered strikes are almost always printed on much higher quality paper than was used for the bound volumes, and the quality of the printing is usually much superior too, with more care having been taken to ensure a crisp impression. These impressions are believed to have been struck by Henry Bohn with a view to colouring them, and then selling them as high-quality single prints, in much the same way as the prints published in Gillray's lifetime. There are many example of such single-sided restrikes, both coloured and uncoloured. Since prices for Bohns are usually between one-tenth and one-twentieth of those for originals, unscrupulous sellers will go to great lengths to disguise the fact that a print is a Bohn. Some common methods include: (i) tortuously worded descriptions, which attempt to avoid disclosure of the fact the print is a restrike (although some sellers will just plain lie); (ii) if the number is outside the image, trimming the print to the very edges of the image; (iii) if the number is inside the image, carefully abrading the surface to obliterate the number; (iv) cutting strips of the image to remove the number; (v) laying the print to paper or framing it such that it is difficult to determine whether there is printing on the reverse; and (vi) adding colour. In summary, caveat emptor It has been suggested that caveat venditor be merged into this article or section. ...

Later Life and Death

Gillray's eyesight began to fail in 1806. He began wearing spectacles but they were unsatisfactory. Unable to work to his previous high standards, James Gillray became depressed and started drinking heavily. He produced his last print in September 1809. As a result of his heavy drinking Gillray suffered from gout throughout his later life. People who have shared his affliction often comment that his etching interpreting this ailment is a very apt and imaginative illustration of the agony that gout sufferers endure. Image File history File links The Gout by James Gillray. ... Image File history File links The Gout by James Gillray. ...

In July 1811 Gillray attempted to kill himself by throwing himself out of an attic window above Humphrey's shop in St James's Street. Gillray lapsed into insanity and was looked after by Hannah Humphrey until his death on 1st June, 1815.

James Gillray is buried in the courtyard of St James's Church, in Piccadilly, London. Piccadilly is a major London street, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Influence of Gillray's Work

Gillray is still revered as one of the most influential political caricaturists of all time, and among the leading cartoonists on the political stage in the United Kingdom today, both Steve Bell and Martin Rowson acknowledge him as probably the most influentual of all their predecessors in that particular arena. Daily If. ... Martin Rowson (born 15 February 1959) is a British cartoonist. ...

There is a good account of Gillray in Wright's History of Caricature and Grotesque in Literature and Art (1865).

External links

Categories: British illustrators | British cartoonists | British caricaturists | People from Chelsea | 1757 births | 1815 deaths | British printmakers | Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... The National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery in St Martins Place, London, England, which opened to the public in 1856. ... Tate Britain is a part of the Tate Gallery in Britain, along with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. ... The New York Public Library - logo New York Public Library, central block, built 1897â€“1911, CarrÃ¨re and Hastings, architects (June 2003) The New York Public Library (NYPL), one of three public library systems serving New York City, is one of the leading libraries in the United States. ... EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica, the 11th edition The EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910â€“1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

Contents

Early life GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");