Art Funded by you

Portrait of Sir Isaac Newton

James Thornhill, 1712

© National Trust Photographic Library

Sir Isaac Newton was born at Woolsthorpe Manor and made his first experiments in gravity there, inspired by the fall of an apple from a tree on to his head. Until the purchase of this portrait, the House lacked family possessions or even a painted portrait of the great mathematician and this work established a vivid physical presence of the scientist. Thornhill's presentation of Newton without a wig focuses our attention on his head and, by implication, on the mind working within it. The National Trust has owned Woolsthorpe Manor since 1942, the 300th anniversary of Newton's birth, when the house was bought to serve as a permanent memorial to Britain's great scientist.

More information

Title of artwork, date

Portrait of Sir Isaac Newton, 1712

Date supported

1994

Medium and material

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

122 x 102 cm

Grant

14000

Total cost

35000

Content note: This object record is part of our archive and has not been updated since it was first published. It may contain inaccurate information or outdated language. Please get in touch if you think this record should be amended.

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