Titre: Bust of Sir Isaac Newton
Artiste: Unknown artist; formerly attributed to Joseph Wilton

In the many portraits that were made of him, Isaac Newton is an imposing and masterful figure, as befitted his standing as the greatest scientist of the day and, latterly, a senior public servant (he was appointed Keeper of the Royal Mint). After Newton?s death busts and statues proliferated as he duly took his place in the premises of learned societies, in libraries and in the ?temples of worthies? that adorned the grottoes and private gardens of the wealthy. Evidence for the date and manner of acquisition of this bust is lacking. It was thought to be by the English sculptor Joseph Wilton, a friend of Roubiliac, but this attribution has recently been questioned. 

LP 227