Sir Henry Clinton, K.B., Commandant en Chef les Troupes de la Majeste Britannique dans l'Amerique

Periodca. 1775

Dateca. 1775

MediumEngraving on paper

DimensionsFramed: 11 × 8.25 in. (27.9 × 21 cm)

InscribedEngraved on blank border: "Smart pinx. / Dupin Sculp. / A Paris chez Esnauts et Rapilly, rue St. Jacques A.P.D.R." Engraved, top right: "No. 28"; Engraved, below portrait image: "SIR HENRY CLINTON, K.B. / Commandant en Chef les Troupes de Sa Majeste Britannique dans l'Amerique."

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineGift of George J. Dittmar, Jr. 1972

Object number1985.510

DescriptionEngraved portrait of Sir Henry Clinton, designed in black ink on white paper. Sir Clinton's half-length portrait is enclosed in an oval, with a ribbon drawn on top. Clinton, who is facing right, is wearing a jacket with small epaulets, a cravat, and a hint of a waistcoat underneath.
Curatorial RemarksThe source of Dupin’s engraving of Clinton is a miniature portrait (National Army Museum, London) painted in 1777 by John Smart, a British portraitist whose likenesses were acclaimed for their anatomical accuracy and sense of elegance. NotesSir Henry Clinton (1738–1795) was born in Newfoundland and grew up in the United States, where his father served as the royal governor of New York. His most sustained period of military service occurred during the American Revolution, when he participated in the battles of Bunker Hill, Charleston, Rhode Island, and Long Island. In the spring of 1778, he replaced General Howe as Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in North America. Clinton’s first action was to disregard the order to move his army from Philadelphia to New York by sea. Instead, he chose a land retreat via New Jersey. When his rear guard was attacked by the rebel forces, he is said to have ridden into the fray “like a Newmarket jockey,” crying out “Charge, Grenadiers, never heed forming!” Clinton was a capable and discerning soldier but his personality has been described as “difficult” and “complex.” After General Charles Cornwallis’s humiliating defeat at Yorktown in October 1781, Clinton was replaced as Commander-in-Chief the following May. He returned to England, where he served as a member of the British Parliament from 1790 to 1794. The “K.B.” appearing after his name in this print indicates that Clinton was a Knight Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, an order of chivalry founded by King George I in 1725.

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