Celebrity in Print

Fame. Notoriety. Celebrated. These were all words used in the 18th century to describe what is known today as celebrity. Through print media – biographies, newspapers, and engravings - stars were born. This exhibit explores how the 18th century English market for portrait prints played a role in the genesis of our modern concept of “celebrity.”

With the expansion of the printed word and pictures in the 18th century, news and portraits of notable people – famous and infamous, willing and unwilling –traveled around the globe. Never before had consumers had wide access to images of individuals other than monarchs. Through the broad circulation of engraved portraiture, people could put a recognizable likeness or caricature with a name they might have heard from friends or read in a newspaper. Over the course of the 18th century, consumers from every walk of life had access to some kind of printed image of notable writers, actors, criminals, social climbers, athletes, politicians, and military figures.