Portrait of Lord Rawdon
| Portrait of Lord Rawdon | |
|---|---|
| Artist | Thomas Gainsborough |
| Year | 1784 |
| Type | Oil on canvas, portrait painting |
| Dimensions | 230 c×ばつ 150 cm (91 in×ばつ 59 in) |
| Location | São Paulo Museum of Art, São Paulo |
Portrait of Lord Rawdon is an oil on canvas portrait painting by the English artist Thomas Gainsborough, from 1784. It depicts the Anglo-Irish soldier and politician Lord Rawdon. He is shown at full-length in his British Army uniform against an Arcadian background. It is held im the São Paulo Museum of Art.[1]
History and description
[edit ]Rawdon had notably served under Lord Cornwallis during the Southern Campaign of the American War of Independence. Later made Earl of Moira, he was a leading Whig and a close ally and friend of the future king George IV, who unsuccessfully tried to have him become Prime Minister during the Regency era.[2]
Gainsborough was one of Britain's most fashionable portraits who had relocated from Bath to the capital a decade earlier. This was a dual commission, as Cornwallis and Rawdon both commissioned him to produce a portrait so they could exchange the pictures.[3] [4]
The painting was one of eighteen paintings Gainsborough submitted to the Royal Academy Exhibition of 1784 at Somerset House. After a dispute with his fellow members of the Royal Academy over the hanging arrangements, he withdrew all the paintings at the last moment.[5] He instead exhibited them at his own residence at Schomberg House, in Pall Mall. This marked his final break with the academy and he didn't display his work there again.[6]
Shortly after Gainsborough's death, his long-standing rival Joshua Reynolds produced his own depiction of the sitter, Portrait of Lord Moira , one of his final works.[7]
References
[edit ]- ^ São Paulo Museum of Art (Portuguese)
- ^ Hutchinson p.138-39
- ^ Lindsay p.157
- ^ Ingamells p.120
- ^ Hamilton p.330-31
- ^ São Paulo Museum of Art (Portuguese)
- ^ Royal Collection Trust
Bibliography
[edit ]- Hamilton, James. Gainsborough: A Portrait. Hachette UK, 2017.
- Hutchinson, Martin. Lord Liverpool: Britain's Greatest Prime Minister. Lutterworth Press, 2020
- Ingamells, John. National Portrait Gallery Mid-Georgian Portraits, 1760–1790. National Portrait Gallery, 2004.
- Lindsay, Jack. Thomas Gainsborough: His Life and Art. Granada, 1981.
