Lot 416: JOHN HOPPNER, R.A. AND STUDIO LONDON 1758 - 1810 PORTRAIT OF THE RT. HON. WILLIAM PITT 56 1/4 by 44 1/2 in.; 143 by 112.5 cm. oil on canvas Provenance: With Scott & Fowles, New York; Anonymous sale, New York, Sotheby's, March 13, 1985, lot 119 (as by

JOHN HOPPNER, R.A. AND STUDIO LONDON 1758 - 1810 PORTRAIT OF THE RT. HON. WILLIAM PITT 56 1/4 by 44 1/2 in.; 143 by 112.5 cm. oil on canvas Provenance: With Scott & Fowles, New York; Anonymous sale, New York, Sotheby's, March 13, 1985, lot 119 (as by Hoppner). Catalogue Note: An unlikely choice for the office, William Pitt took up the office of Prime Minister of Great Britain at a young 24 years of age, making him the youngest prime minister in history. He held the title from 1783 - 1801 and then again from 1804 until his death in 1806, making him one of the longest serving men in the position. His reforms kept him in the good graces of the public until The Act of 1800, which called for the emancipation of the Catholics, a request that the king refused and the people rebelled against. Pitt resigned in 1801 in protest to the king's refusal, but returned again in 1804. The prime version of this painting is in the Tate Gallery, London.