Oil paint on canvas
Tate Britain
Tate Collection
Works with images
Works on display
General Collection
Collection
<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/j-w-chandler-2340" aria-label="More by J.W. Chandler" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">J.W. Chandler</a>
William Godwin
Purchased 1886
adults
author
Godwin, William
government and politics
individuals: male
literary
man
named individuals
people
political belief
portraits
society
work and occupations
<p>William Godwin (1756-1836) was a writer, philosopher and radical thinker. His publications were a form of activism, highlighting various injustices. Godwin’s 1793 text, <span>An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice</span>, explored the idea of dismantling state power. His mystery novel <span>Things as They Are</span> (1794) criticised the unfair advantages enjoyed by the upper classes. Godwin was influenced by the French Revolution of 1789. He hoped the restructuring of the French government would inspire parliamentary reform in Britain. Though ideologically opposed to marriage, Godwin married feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft following the conception of their daughter, Mary Shelley.</p><p><em>Gallery label, September 2023</em></p>
painting oil paint canvas
1 March 2004 – 6 June 2004
2004-06-06
1 March 2004 – 6 June 2004
2004-06-06
2004-03-01
Wordsworth Trust (Grasmere, UK)
http://www.wordsworth.org.uk
2004-03-01
Spirit of the Age
Loan-out
26 September 2022
26 September 2022
2022-09-26
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2022-09-26
Gallery 10
Collection based display
William Godwin
support: 749 × 622 mm
frame: 1005 × 884 × 105 mm
Purchased 1886
<div class="text">
<p>William Godwin (1756-1836) was a writer, philosopher and radical thinker. His publications were a form of activism, highlighting various injustices. Godwin’s 1793 text, An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, explored the idea of dismantling state power. His mystery novel Things as They Are (1794) criticised the unfair advantages enjoyed by the upper classes. Godwin was influenced by the French Revolution of 1789. He hoped the restructuring of the French government would inspire parliamentary reform in Britain. Though ideologically opposed to marriage, Godwin married feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft following the conception of their daughter, Mary Shelley.</p>
</div>

Online caption
2023-11-29T00:00:00
online-caption
ONLINE_CAPTION
adults author Godwin, William government and politics individuals: male literary man named individuals people political belief portraits society work and occupations