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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

Charles William Vane-Stewart, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, 1812

Sir Thomas Lawrence

Charles William Vane-Stewart, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, 1812

The general and diplomat Charles Vane-Stewart (1778–1854) was one of the foremost participants in the Napoleonic Wars and its political aftermath. Stewart was a long-term supporter and close friend of Thomas Lawrence, a self-taught child prodigy, who established himself as Britain’s pre-eminent portrait painter with works that captured the glamour of the age with dazzling brushwork and innovative use of colour.

In this painting, Lawrence has depicted the dashing cavalry officer with brilliance and swagger wearing his hussar’s uniform and the Peninsular Medal he was awarded after the Battle of Talavera in 1809. The portrait was celebrated by Lawrence’s contemporaries and is regarded as an icon of British military portraiture.

National Portrait Gallery, London Purchased with help from the Art Fund and the National Heritage Memorial Fund, 1992
© National Portrait Gallery, London

Related information

Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick, 1804
Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick, 1804
Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick, 1804
Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick, 1804

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Magazine article by Dr Anne Sanders, 2010

Anne Sanders writes about the exhibitions Victoria & Albert: Art & Love on display at the Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace and the retrospective of Sir Thomas Lawrence at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
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The National Portrait Gallery building front entrance
The National Portrait Gallery building front entrance
The National Portrait Gallery building front entrance

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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

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