Sir Thomas Lawrence was an English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was an innkeeper at the Bear Hotel in the Market Square. At age ten, having moved to Bath, he was supporting his family with his pastel portraits. At 18, he went to London and soon established his reputation as a portrait painter in oils, receiving his first royal commission, a portrait of Queen Charlotte, in 1789. He stayed at the top of his profession until his death, aged 60, in 1830.
The Yale Center for British Art at Yale University in central New Haven, Connecticut, houses the largest and most comprehensive collection of British art outside the United Kingdom. The collection of paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, rare books, and manuscripts reflects the development of British art and culture from the Elizabethan period onward.
George IV is an 1821 portrait painting by the English artist Thomas Lawrence portraying George IV, the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. George is depicted in the robes he wore for his Coronation in July 1821. Lawrence was Britain's pre-eminent portrait painter and had previously depicted George on a number of occasions during the Regency era before he came to the throne in succession to his father George III in 1820. Lawrence had recently been elected to succeed Benjamin West as President of the Royal Academy
George Canning is an 1826 full-length portrait by the British artist Thomas Lawrence of the statesman George Canning, a leading Tory politician. His career had been seriously disrupted by his 1809 duel with his cabinet colleague Lord Castlereagh, until his appointment as Foreign Secretary in 1822 after Castlereagh's suicide led him to a revival. He is shown speaking in the House of Commons. It was painted around the same time as Lawrence was depicting Canning's colleague the Duke of Wellington. Commissioned by Robert Peel, it was one of eight portraits he exhibited at the Royal Academy that year. It received qualified praise from fellow painter John Constable. The following year Canning became Prime Minister in succession to Lord Liverpool, but suffering from poor health died at Chiswick House after just 119 days in office. It is now part of the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London.
The Portrait of Lord Hawkesbury is a work by the English artist Thomas Lawrence depicting the British politician and future Prime Minister Lord Hawkesbury, then in his mid-twenties. It is also known as the Portrait of Lord Liverpool, referring to the title he inherited in 1808 and by which he is better known. It is in the style of Romanticism.
Sir Charles Stewart is an 1812 portrait by the English artist Thomas Lawrence of the Irish soldier and diplomat Charles Stewart. Stewart was a career soldier who had served in the Peninsular War as Adjutant General to Allied commander Lord Wellington. Stewart had returned home from Portugal when he posed for the portrait and was subsequently appointed British Ambassador to Prussia, launching a diplomatic career that saw him play a key role in forming the alliance that defeated Napoleon and attending the Congress of Vienna. He is shown in hussar uniform, a branch of light cavalry that became prominent during the Napoleonic Wars. He wears his Peninsular Medal earned for his service over the past four years.
The Portrait of Prince Metternich is a painting by the British artist Thomas Lawrence of the Austrian statesman Klemens von Metternich. Lawrence painted many European leaders involved in the alliance against Napoleon's French Empire.
The Portrait of Francis I of Austria is a painting by the British artist Sir Thomas Lawrence depicting the Austrian Emperor Francis I.
George III is an 1809 portrait painting by the English artist Thomas Lawrence depicting the British monarch George III. It is an oil painting on canvas depicting the King in his robes for the State Opening of Parliament. It was commissioned by George as a gift for the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Henry Addington. George had reigned since 1760, but he was troubled by occasional bouts of mental instability. In 1810, shortly after celebrating the Golden Jubilee on the throne, George was overcome by a more lasting loss of control and his eldest son George was declared Prince Regent. The image by Lawrence continued to be used to represent the King throughout the remainder of his reign.
Sir Walter Scott is a portrait painting by the English artist Thomas Lawrence of the Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott. Begun in 1820, it was completed in 1826 and exhibited at the 1827 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Lawrence was Britain's foremost society portraitist of the Regency era and was commissioned by George IV, a regular patron of the artist for whom he supplied various paintings for the Waterloo Chamber, to depict Scott for a fee of three hundred guineas.
The Marquess of Wellesley is a portrait painting by the English artist Thomas Lawrence of the Irish statesman Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley. Wellesley was a senior politician in Britain where he served as Foreign Secretary from 1809 to 1812 and was regarded as a potential future Prime Minister. Lawrence was the leading portraitist of the Regency era, depicting prominent figures from Britain and it's European Allies during the Napoleonic Wars. It is also known as the Portrait of Lord Wellesley.
Portrait of Benjamin West is an 1810 portrait painting by the British artist Thomas Lawrence depicting the Anglo-American painter Benjamin West. Ten years later Lawrence succeeded West, on his death, as the President of the Royal Academy.
Portrait of Sir John Moore is a portrait painting by the British artist Thomas Lawrence of the Scottish army officer Sir John Moore, painted between 1800 and 1804.
Portrait of the Duchess of Berry is an 1825 portrait painting by the English artist Sir Thomas Lawrence. It depicts the Italian-born French royal Marie-Caroline, Duchess of Berry, the widowed daughter-in-law of the reigning French monarch Charles X. A few months after the assassination of her husband in 1820, she gave birth to a child Henri who seemed to secure the succession for the House of Bourbon.
Portrait of Lord Melbourne is a portrait painting by the English artist Thomas Lawrence portraying the British Whig politician and future Prime Minister Lord Melbourne. It is also known as the Portrait of William Lamb as he had not yet inherited the title from his father when it was painted. It is today in the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Portrait of William Pitt is an 1807 portrait painting by the English artist Thomas Lawrence of the British politician William Pitt the Younger. It was one of a number of depictions of prime ministers executed by Lawrence during his career.
Portrait of Maria II is an 1829 portrait painting by the British artist Thomas Lawrence depicting the Portuguese queen Maria II. Lawrence was the President of the Royal Academy and Britain's leading portraitist. It was painted between 1828 and 1829 while the young Maria was in exile in England during the Liberal Wars in Portugal. Lawrence depicts her in a white dress and wearing a number of orders represented by stars and ribbons. It was commissioned by George IV for two hundred guineas. It was one of the last works completed by Lawrence before his death in early 1830. It remains in the Royal Collection.
Portrait of Mirza Abul Hasan is an 1810 portrait painting by the English artist Thomas Lawrence depicting Mirza Abolhassan Khan Ilchi, the Persian envoy to Britain.
Portrait of Sir Humphry Davy is an 1821 portrait painting by the British artist Thomas Lawrence. It depicts the scientist Sir Humphry Davy, president of the Royal Society. Davy is known for the invention of the Davy Lamp and isolating a number of elements using electricity. It shows Davy in the stance of a swagger portrait dressed in fashionable Regency era style. A Davy Lamp sits on the table next to him.
Portrait of Henry Brougham is an 1825 portrait painting by the English artist Sir Thomas Lawrence depicting the British politician and lawyer Henry Brougham.
