By Georg Wilhelm Lafontaine (ca. 1680-1745), royal court painter ("Hofcontrefaitre"), 1727. Size: 57 1/2 wide by 90 1/2 inches. Accession O0023.
Dealt exclusively with the dominant Whigs and was bolstered by the Act of Settlement of 1701. Therefore although German by birth he assumed the throne of England following the death of Queen Anne, 1714. The quick suppression in 1715 of the Jacobite insurrection--involving James II's son, known as the Old Pretender--brought a period of stability and well-being that reflected positively on the king. George's long absences in Germany (as Elector of Hanover) and his deficiency in the English language gave his prime ministers virtual royal authority and so helped bring about an essentially parliamentary, rather than royal, government.
