Sir Thomas Lawrence P. R .A.

Commissioned by the sitter and delivered to his wife by Lawrence's executors on 3rd February 1831 

K. Garlick, Sir Thomas Lawrence, London 1954, p. 63;
K. Garlick, "A catalogue of the paintings, drawings and pastels of Sir Thomas Lawrence", Walpole Society, Vol. XXXIX, 1964, pp. 198 & 311;
K. Garlick, Sir Thomas Lawrence, A Catalogue of the Oil Paintings, Oxford 1989, no. 819, p. 283

STRUCTURE The canvas has been lined. PAINT SURFACE The painting appears to be in very good condition with no apparent damage or loss of paint. There appears to be a discoloured varnish overall and two areas of very slight blanching in the lower right. There also appears to be some minor surface dirt in the upper left and lower centre but otherwise the painting appears to be in very good condition. ULTRAVIOLET Examination under ultraviolet light confirms the opacity of the varnish and reveals some very minor retouching to the aforementioned blanching in the lower right. FRAME Held in a gilt wood frame To speak to a specialist about this lot please contact Julian Gascoigne on +44 (0)207 293 5482, or at julian.gascoigne@sothebys.com, or Ludo Shaw Stewart on +44 (0)207 293 5816, or at ludovic.shawstewart@sothebys.com.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The eldest son of Thomas Wildman of Bacton Hall, Suffolk, the sitter was a distinguished cavalry officer and a close friend of Lord Byron. Educated at Harrow, where he was a fellow pupil of Byron's, Wildman joined the army in 1808, purchasing a Cornetcy in the 7^th Light Dragoons. He fought throughout the Napoleonic Wars and was with the 7th Hussars at Waterloo, where he served as aide-de-camp to the Earl of Uxbridge, who famously lost his leg to a canon shot whilst riding beside the Duke of Wellington. Uxbridge was in command of the allied cavalry and distinguished himself in leading one of the most decisive cavalry charges of the battle. Wildman, who was himself lightly wounded in the charge, was with him when his leg was later amputated and his subsequent letter home is the only extant report of Lord Uxbridge's ordeal. Wildman's Napoleonic War diary, which describes the campaign in detail, and his letters home describing Uxbridge's wounding at Waterloo, was published in 2007 by Michael Birks in The Young Hussar: The Peninsula War Journal of Colonel Thomas Wildman.

Wildman later rose through several appointments, in various regiments, serving as equerry to the Duke of Sussex, to be promoted Colonel of the Sherwood Rangers in 1837, before transferring in 1840 to Lieutenant-Colonel of the 5^th Dragoon Guards. In addition to his military career Wildman's family had purchased the Quebec Estate, a large sugar plantation in Jamaica, from William Beckford and the wealth generated from the plantation enabled Wildman to purchase Newstead Abbey, in Nottinghamshire, from his old school friend Lord Byron in 1818, for the sum of £94,000. Byron had been trying to sell the Abbey since 1812 and although the sale ended four centuries of his family's ownership, Wildman's purchase solved the financial crisis that had been afflicting his friend and he was widely considered the man to have saved Byron's name. Newstead Abbey is now a museum and houses Wildman's extensive collection of Byron memorabilia.