William Hamilton (diplomat)  

"Rumors of the extraordinary excavations spread like wildfire through the ranks of European art lovers. Naples becomes a mandatory stop on the Grand Tour. And in Naples - albeit if one has the right connections - an obligatory stop is the villa of Scottish diplomat and art collector William Hamilton (1751-1801), who has settled there in 1764. He soon becomes the greatest connoisseur of all that fine beauty excavated in the Bay of Naples. Not everyone calls those finds 'fine,' by the way; one London newspaper even describes them as "obscene garbage ... that would be better entrusted to oblivion.' The newspaper laughs at the so-called art connoisseurs, that amalgam 'of dilettantes, virtuosi, students and professors completing their studies at Covent Garden [a large red light district in London].' Antiquaries get a bad name. They are said to use their scientific knowledge to amuse themselves. So it seems. And it is not that far from the truth."--A History of Erotica (2011) by Jan-Willem Geerinck

"Greek vases were made known by Hamilton, and Roman monuments by Piranesi. In 1762 Stuart and Revett’s great work on the antiquities of Athens appeared, and in 1764 Winckelmann wrote his History of Ancient Art. "--The History of Painting: From the Fourth to the Early Nineteenth Century (1893/94) by Richard Muther

"Je considère Napoleon, Fox, et Hamilton comme les trois plus grands hommes de notre époque, et si je devais me prononcer entre les trois, je donnerais sans hesiter la première place à Hamilton. Il avait deviné l'Europe."--Étude Sur La République Des États Unis d'Amérique: 1776-1876 () by Talleyrand