AN APPRECIATION: Sir Thomas Lawrence
​by Rich Wagner

 I like to do portraits and so I am attracted to portrait artists. The second half of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th century in Great Britain was a golden age of portrait painting. There were numerous portrait artists including Sir Joshua Reynolds, Henry Raeburn, George Romney and John Hoppner. Artists from other countries such as Elizabeth Vigee Le Brun, John Singleton Copely and Gilbert Stuart also worked in England for a time. However, the one that has always appealed to me the most from this era was Sir Thomas Lawrence.

Lawrence was born in Bristol, England in 1769, the same year as Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington were born. His father was a not very successful innkeeper. Young Thomas soon displayed a great talent for drawing faces and so his father put the boy to work drawing likenesses of the inn's customers. This proved so successful that the boy was taken on tour to various towns in England. His reputation grew and he became the primary support for the family.

Eventually, the Lawrences settled in Bath. This spa city had become a fashionable resort frequented by the upper classes of this era. Lawrence switched from pencil portraits to pastels and developed a successful trade producing portraits of the city's elite visitors.

Lawrence was entirely self-taught. He gained insights into art from engravings in books and from studying the collections in the great houses of his upper class customers.

By 1787, the Lawrences had moved to London. Although he had attempted a few oil paintings while in Bath, he now made oils his primary medium. At first, his oil paintings were criticized and it was even suggested that he stick with pastels. However, by 1790, he had mastered oils and exhibited three portraits that were very well received at the Royal Academy.

Lawrence's career soared. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy the next year and before he turned 25 he was elected as a full Academician. Meanwhile, following the death of Sir Joshua Reynolds, he was appointed Painter-in-Ordinary to King George III. Portrait commissions rolled in.

Although from a much different social class, the artist became friends with a number of his sitters. One such friend was Sir Charles Stuart, who was adjutant-general under the Duke of Wellington for awhile and later an ambassador. Through Stuart, Lawrence was introduced to the Prince Regent, later King George IV, and did a number of portraits of him. This, of course, led to even more commissions. Indeed, Lawrence was commissioned to paint the portraits of the various European monarchs and leaders who were instrumental in Napoleon's downfall. These portraits are displayed today as a group today at Windsor Castle in the Waterloo Chamber.

Lawrence became internationally famous and was knighted in 1815. He was voted President of the Royal Academy in 1820. However, his private life was not as glowing. He was something of a workaholic. He was continuously painting or drawing. Indeed, he was working on a painting the day before he died in 1830. Furthermore, whereas it was common practice for artists to have assistants do the backgrounds or the drapery in portraits, Lawrence, who did have assistants, preferred to do the work himself. Thus, while he had several love affairs with women, he did not marry. And despite having a substantial income from his work, he ran up considerable debts largely due to his purchases of Old Master drawings and generosity to his friends.

Since his death, Lawrence's reputation has gone down hill. His subjects were the elite of the day and such people are no longer fashionable in these more egalitarian times. However, this was the generation that freed Europe from the authoritarian regime of Napoleon. They were also the people that Jane Austen depicted in her novels - - a society that the public today finds endlessly fascinating as the numerous films and television programs based on her books document.

Unlike some of his contemporary artists, Lawrence did not see his job as merely to produce a likeness of his sitter. Rather, he was very much concerned with rendering his response to that person. Of course, there were times when he failed to achieve this objective. However, in a good Lawrence portrait, you get to meet the person portrayed.

For example, Lawrence's portrait of Sir Charles Stuart, now at the National Gallery in London, shows his friend with the devil-may-care dash of a Napoleonic-era cavalryman. In the Frick Collection's portrait of Julia, Lady Peel, Lawrence portrayed the wife of future prime minister Sir Robert Peel in elaborate court dress. However, the face reveals this person's uncomplicated loveliness and sweetness.

Lawrence was also a master draughtsman. His paintings grew from his drawing. There is much to be learned from studying his technique.

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​Above: A captivating "Portrait of a Young Lady" now at the National Gallery in London.

Above: One of the portraits that helped establish Lawrence when he came to London was of actress Elizabeth Farren, who later became Countess of Derby.
Below: Lawrence's portrait of the Calmady children demonstrates his ability to capture personality was not limited to adults.    Both works are now in the Metropolitan Museum.

Above: Lawrence's friend and patron Sir Charles Stuart.
Below: Lady Peel, wife of Lawrence's patron Sir Robert Peel.

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Artist appreciation - Sir Thomas Lawrence​