George Stevenson
- Artist: George Smeeton
- Date: 1812
- Medium: hand-coloured stipple
- Dimensions: Long Term Loan
- Portrays: George Stevenson
- 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 hand‑coloured stipple portrait of George Stevenson, born about 1720 and living after 1750, a pugilist. The sitter appears in profile, his face rendered with delicate stippling that gives texture to hair and eyes; the subtle colours add depth without heavy shading. Notice how his clothing—simple, dark jacket and simple hat—is painted with gentle strokes that suggest fabric folds.
The image was published by printer‑publisher George Smeeton on 14 October 1812 in the periodical *Boxiana*. Smeeton produced around forty‑three portraits, often hand‑coloured for print. The stipple technique, popular at the time, allowed fine tonal gradations and a soft finish.
So as you stand here, watch how the stippling gathers into light and dark, breathing life into Stevenson’s profile—a quiet portrait of an early 18th‑century pugilist captured by a printer who also crafted the image.
See it in person
George Stevenson 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.
