© National Portrait Gallery 2025
King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196
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
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.
Visit us, learn with us, support us or work with us! Here’s a range of information about planning your visit, our history and more!
We depend on your support to keep creating our programs, exhibitions, publications and building the amazing portrait collection!
