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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.

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

Sir Thomas Lawrence

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

Shakespeare to Winehouse

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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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