Dorothy Jordan
- Artist: John Boydell
- Artist: Josiah Boydell
- Artist: John Ogborne
- Artist: George Romney
- Date: 1788
- Medium: stipple engraving
- Dimensions: Long Term Loan
- Portrays: Dorothy Jordan (Mrs Jordan) (Dorothea Phillips)
- 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 stipple engraving titled “Dorothy Jordan,” produced in 1788 by John Ogborne after the painter George Romney. The print captures the actress Dorothea Phillips—known as Dorothy Jordan—in elegant repose, her face rendered with delicate dots that create soft shading and depth. Notice the fine stippling around her eyes and mouth; the background is subtly textured to suggest a muted room. Published by John Boydell & Josiah Boydell on 24 June 1788, this work sits at the heart of late‑eighteenth‑century print culture, when engravers translated painted portraits into widely circulated prints. As you observe the portrait, imagine how such prints helped spread an artist’s likeness beyond a single canvas. The National Portrait Gallery proudly displays this example of early English engraving technique.
See it in person
Dorothy Jordan 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.
