David Garrick as King Lear

c. 1815

Richard Westall (British, 1765-1836)

David Garrick, one of the most influential actors of 18th century Britain, appears here in the guise of the titular character from William Shakespeare’s King Lear, a role he played numerous times on the stage. The play follows Lear’s mental breakdown after he relinquishes his power and divides his kingdom between two of his daughters. In this portrait, made after Garrick’s passing and based on prints created from his death mask, the actor wears a crown of wheat and wildflowers in reference to a famous scene in the play during which the king rages at a storm, daring it to harm him.

Status: On View, Gallery 219
Department: Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Artist: Richard Westall
Title: David Garrick as King Lear
Place: United Kingdom (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1810–1820
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 73 × 59.7 cm (28 3/4 × 23 1/2 in.); Framed: 93.4 × 79.4 × 8.9 cm (36 3/4 × 31 1/4 × 3 1/2 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Richard L. Feigen
Reference Number: 1996.741
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/146648/manifest.json

Oberlin, Ohio, Dudley Peter Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Shakespeare Quadricentennial Festival, 1963-64, February 10-24, 1964, no cat.
London, Heim Gallery, The Painted Word. British History Painting: 1750-1830, May 1-June 11, 1991, cat. 121.
Tokyo, Isetan Museum of Art, Shakespeare in Western Art, October 29-November 24, 1992; Ibaraki, Museum of Modern Art, November 28-December 23, 1992; Kintetsu Nara Hall, January 9-February 8, 1993; Takamatsu City Museum of Art, February 19-March 28, 1993, no cat. no.
Chicago, Newberry Library, Creating Shakespeare, 23 September -31 December 20016, no cat.

Alfred Wilson Harris (died 1932), Peoria, Illinois, and Cleveland, Ohio, probably acquired in Europe in 1918/19 [information given in a conversation of March 23, 2004, between Nancy Newberry, granddaughter of A.W. Harris, and Tiffany Johnston; see memorandum in curatorial file]; by descent to his son, Thomas William Harris, Bay Village, Ohio; consigned by him to the Vixseboxse Art Gallery, Cleveland, before 1958 [according to letter of November 10, 1958, from T. W. Harris to Mr. Vixseboxse; copy in curatorial file]; given by him to the Akron Art Institute, Akron, Ohio, in 1958 and accessioned as 58.212 [according to correspondence and records supplied by the Akron Art Museum]; deaccessioned by the Akron Museum of Art, 1981 [according to the records cited above, in 1980 the Akron Art Institute changed its name to the Akron Museum of Art]; sold, Sotheby’s, New York, January 8, 1981, lot 76, to Richard Feigen, New York, and P. & D. Colnaghi and Company, London, in joint ownership [buyers according to e-mail correspondence of December 11, 2015, between Frances Beatty of Richard Feigen and Company, and Amanda Block; copy in curatorial file]; all shares sold to Richard Feigen, March 1, 1981 [see previous citation]; given to the Art Institute, 1996.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

On View

Status

Department

Artist

Title

Place

Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Medium

Dimensions

Credit Line

Reference Number

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

Explore Further

Suggested Terms

On View

Date:

Artist:

About this artwork

Status

Department

Artist

Title

Place

Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Medium

Dimensions

Credit Line

Reference Number

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

Extended information about this artwork

Exhibition History

Provenance

Share

Explore Further

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Gallery actions

Image actions

Share

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.