John Philip Kemble was one of the leading thespians of his day. He excelled in grand tragic roles, primarily in plays by Shakespeare. Lawrence portrayed Kemble as Hamlet with the skull of Yorick, the court jester with whom Hamlet played as a child. Kemble passed away in 1823; given the date of this portrait (1838), evidently prints of him in this role were still in demand even fifteen years after his death.