Portrait of John Fisher D.D, Lord Bishop of Salisbury, 1810

An portrait of John Fisher, D.D (1748-1825), Lord Bishop of Salisbury (1807-1825), formerly Bishop of Exeter (1803-1807). Drawn by M. Haughton "from an original picture by J. Northcote, Esq. R.A., in the Gallery of Salisbury Palace," engraved by E. Scriven and published by T. Cadell & W. Davies, Strand, London, on 1st November 1810.

Print comprises a circular bust-length stipple portrait of a middle-aged white male in an ear-length powdered wig, seated on a large chair with studs, looking to the right. He is dressed in Bishop vestments: a large white chimere accompanied by a dark rochet over the top, fixed by a chain with floral epaulettes and a badge on the left shoulder of the St. George cross framed by Latin text. Below the portrait, bold text reads ‘JOHN FISHER, D.D. LORD BISHOP OF SALISBURY.’ In italic scroll, ‘From an original Picture by J. NORTHCOTE, ESQ. R.A. in the Gallery of Salisbury Palace. Drawn by M. Haughton, Engraved by E. Scriven. PUBLISHED NOV.1.1810. BY T. CADELL & W. DAVIES, STRAND, LONDON.

John Fisher (1748-1825) was born in Hampton and after studying at Cambridge was appointed tutor to Prince Edward in 1780, and chaplain to King George III a year later. From that point onwards, he remained in the clergy and in 1803 was consecrated as Bishop of Exeter, a post he remained in for four years until becoming the Bishop of Salisbury (and Chancellor of the Order of the Garter) in 1807, a position he held until his death. His continued connections with royalty earnt him the nickname ‘King’s Fisher’, and he was good friends with the artist John Constable (despite their thirty-year age difference, commissioning him to paint a number of works (along with his own pieces: examples here, here and here. He was described by Fanny Burney, an aristocratic English writer, as a proficient draughtsman.)
After marrying in Devon in 1787, Fisher wrote to his friend Mary Hamilton, (a royal governess), of his new wife: “She is a very pleasing sensible young woman, the only child of a man of large fortune in Suffolk, who like a true miser more
easily parted with his daughter than his money.”

The print, based on an original painting by James Northcote (an artist with links to the Royal Academy), was included in a book published by T. Cadell and W. Davies titled The British Gallery of Contemporary Portraits, Being a Series of Engravings of the More Eminent Persons Now Living or Lately Deceased in Great Britain and Ireland: From Drawings Accurately Made from Life, or From the Most Approved Original Pictures Accompanied by Short Biographical Notices, a copy of which is held by the University of Exeter (see Extra oversize 725.79 BRI/XX).

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