David Garrick
- Artist: Johan Joseph Zoffany
- Date: 1763
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 29 5/8 in. x 24 7/8 in. (752 mm x 632 mm)
- Portrays: David Garrick
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
Before you is a portrait of David Garrick, the celebrated stage actor of the mid‑18th century. The canvas is painted in oil, laid out in a feigned oval that keeps the eye moving around his profile face. Zoffany’s hand gives the sitter a naturalistic pose—Garrick is shown without wig, in plain dress, as if he were about to step onto the stage at any moment.
Below him, two masks sit on the ground: one of Tragedy with a broken dagger, and one of Comedy carrying panpipes. The small branches of laurel, ivy and cypress rise around them, symbols of his talent and lasting fame. These elements remind us that Garrick helped make Shakespeare’s plays an English national treasure—he organized the 1769 Jubilee in Stratford-upon-Avon.
The portrait dates from 1763 and measures roughly 30 by 25 inches. It moved to our collection from the Tate Gallery in 1957, and now sits proudly among other primary works of the period. The artist, Johan Joseph Zoffany, was a specialist in portraits; this piece is one of his many contributions to the visual record of theatrical life.
Feel free to look at the masks, the dagger, the branches—each detail invites you to think about Garrick’s influence on stagecraft and on how we remember Shakespeare.
See it in person
David Garrick is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
