Bill Richmond ('A striking view of Richmond')
- Artist: Robert Dighton
- Date: 1810
- Medium: hand-coloured etching
- Dimensions: 12 in. x 10 1/4 in. (305 mm x 259 mm) paper size
- Portrays: Bill Richmond
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
In front of you is a hand‑coloured etching by Robert Dighton, printed in March 1810. The drawing measures about twelve inches across and ten inches tall, set on a small piece of paper that shows the figure of Bill Richmond, a pugilist whose career began in New York but flourished in England.
You can see the man depicted mid‑stance, his jacket buttoned, with the light touches of colour outlining his face and hands. Dighton’s line work is crisp; he has added warm hues to bring out the skin tones and the cloth, giving the print a lively depth that contrasts the sharp lines of the etching.
Richmond was born on Staten Island in 1763. A local general named Percy took him to England after seeing him win a tavern brawl, and arranged matches against British soldiers for entertainment. The most famous fight came in 1805, when he lost to Tom Cribb after the seventy‑sixth round. He later trained another American boxer, Tom Molyneux, who met the same fate at Cribb’s hands.
See it in person
Bill Richmond ('A striking view of Richmond') is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
