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George John Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer

Image credit: National Portrait Gallery, London

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As First Lord of the Admiralty (1794–1801), Spencer's reforms to the administration of the Navy laid the foundations for British victories at sea. He singled out Nelson and sent him to win the Battle of the Nile. Spencer resigned office with Pitt in 1801, re-entering the government in 1806 as Home Secretary. His book collection forms the nucleus of the Rylands Library at Manchester.
Probably commissioned by Lord Willoughby, Spencer's fellow Tory and admirer of Pitt, it shows Spencer wearing the ribbon and star of a Knight of the Garter.

National Portrait Gallery, London

London

Title

George John Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer

Date

c.1800

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 73.7 x W 61 cm

Accession number

1487

Acquisition method

Purchased, 1908

Work type

Painting

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National Portrait Gallery, London

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