About this artwork
Dubbed the father of economics, Adam Smith is best known for his pioneering work An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, published in 1776. In this, Smith laid the foundations for modern free market economics, setting out a case for self-interested individualism and competition as integral to economic prosperity that remains influential today. Nevertheless, his ‘enlightened’ and progressive views did not lead him to question the existence of extreme social inequality, while his rejection of slavery was accompanied by a belief that it would be difficult and perhaps even impossible to abolish.
Updated before 2020
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artist:James Tassie (1735 - 1799) Scottish
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title:Adam Smith, 1723 - 1790. Political economist
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date created:Dated 1787
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materials:Paste
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measurements:7.30 cm (height)
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object type:
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credit line:Transferred from the National Gallery of Scotland 1960
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accession number:PG 1949
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gallery:
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depicted:
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subject:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
James Tassie
James Tassie
Tassie was born in Pollokshaws, Glasgow. He trained first as a stone mason and then attended the Foulis Academy in Glasgow. Tassie moved to Dublin in 1763, where he learned how to make imitations of antique cameos. He invented a formula for a type of glass paste which he used for the rest of his...