Elizabeth Carter (1717-1806), Scholar and writer

Elizabeth Carter (1717-1806), Scholar and writer
Sitter associated with 8 portraits
Encouraged by her father, a clergyman, to study, Carter applied herself with such perseverance that she became one of the most learned Englishwoman of her time, being mistress of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic, besides several modern European languages. She rendered into English De Crousaz's Examen de l'essai de Monsieur Pope sur l'homme (1739); Algarotti's Newtonianismo per le Donne; the works of Epictetus (1758) and wrote a volume of poems. An icon of virtue and learning, Carter was later sought out by aspiring women writers, including the literary critic Elizabeth Montagu, with whom she developed a lifelong friendship and helped to establish the Bluestocking Circle.

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NPG 4905 Portraits in the Characters of the Muses in the Temple of Apollo by Richard Samuel oil on canvas, 1778 On display in Room 34 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG 28 Elizabeth Carter by Sir Thomas Lawrence pastel on vellum, oval image, 1788-1789 Primary Collection
NPG D4998 Unknown sitter called Elizabeth Carter by John Raphael Smith, after John Kitchingman mezzotint, published 1781 Archive Collection
NPG D13793 Elizabeth Carter by Mackenzie, after Joachim Smith stipple engraving, published 1807 Archive Collection
NPG D13647 Elizabeth Carter after Joachim Smith stipple engraving, published 1821 Archive Collection
NPG D13648 Elizabeth Carter after Joachim Smith stipple engraving, published 1821 Archive Collection
NPG D32713 Elizabeth Carter by Caroline Watson, after Sir Thomas Lawrence stipple engraving, published 1808 (1788-1789) Archive Collection
NPG D14162 Elizabeth Carter by Joseph Brown, published by Richard Bentley line and stipple engraving, published 1861 Archive Collection

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Category
Literature and Writing
Scholarship and Languages

Groups
Academics and scholars
Writers and critics

The online database contains information on 106,228 works, 56,098 of which are illustrated; the National Portrait Gallery's collection includes over 330,000 works. We are expanding this database regularly - last updated March 2008.

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