Overall: 27 1/4 x 18 1/2 x 10 inches (69.2 x 47 x 25.4 cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1977.14.16
Gallery Label:
Charles James Fox was the leading Whig politician of the late eighteenth century and the dogged opponent of George III. Along with other Whigs, such as the Duke of Richmond and the Marquess of Rockingham, Fox opposed fighting to retain the American colonies and instead favored a negotiated transition to independence. A redoubtable opponent of slavery, Fox spoke eloquently in the House of Commons in favor of the abolition of the slave trade, something finally accomplished in 1807 with his Slave Trade Act, although Fox himself died shortly before it passed. Fox sat to Joseph Nollekens for his portrait in 1790 at the insistence of Earl Fitzwilliam, and the result was one of the sculptor’s masterpieces. The bust was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1791 and proved immensely popular. This example is one of several copies the sculptor’s studio made for Fox’s friends and political associates. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016
