Sir Thomas Lawrence P. R .A.

By descent from the sitter, who died without issue, to his brother, H. R. H. Prince Adolphus, 1^st Duke of Cambridge (1774-1850);
By descent to his son, H. R. H. Prince George, 2^nd Duke of Cambridge (1819-1904);
Sold by order of his executors, London, Christie’s, 11 June 1904, lot 96, to Garrick for 45 gns.;
Mrs V. Bruce, by 1931;
Diana, Lady Aubrey Fletcher;
By whom sold, London, Sotheby’s, 17 March 1971, lot 78, to Marshall Spink for £850;
Private Collection, Chicago;
By whom anonymously sold, London, Sotheby's, 25 November 2004, lot 57, where acquired by the present owner.

London, Royal Academy, 1822, no. 73.

R. Sunderland Gower, Sir Thomas Lawrence, London 1900, p. 170 (with incorrect provenance);
W. Armstrong, Lawrence, London 1913, p. 173;
K. Garlick, Sir Thomas Lawrence, London 1954, p. 64 (as untraced);
K. Garlick, ‘A catalogue of the paintings, drawings and pastels of Sir Thomas Lawrence’, in Walpole Society, vol. XXXIX, Glasgow 1964, p. 205, no. 4(iv);
K. Garlick, Sir Thomas Lawrence, A complete catalogue of the oil paintings, Oxford 1989, p. 290, no. 858(c), reproduced via an engraving (listed as whereabouts unknown).


Engraved
In line by G. T. Doo, 1824.

The painting is richer in colour than the catalogue illustration would suggest. The canvas has been relined and the paint surface appears to be in very good overall condition with no apparent damage or loss of paint visible to the naked eye except for sme very minor frame abrasion lower right. There is a think craquelure in the face. Examination under ultrviolet reveals the presence of a thick mottled varnish overall which makes inspection difficult, however the painting seems to be, by in large in good overall condition. There is minor infilling to the aforementioned craquelure and retouching to an old repaired diagonal tear measuring approx. 4 in. lower left, and to an old repaired vertical tear in his left shoulder measuring approx. 5 in. which runs from the edge of his lapel to his second button down. Offered in it's original gilt wood and plaster frame in good overall condition.
"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 second and favourite son of George III and Queen Charlotte, Prince Frederick was a close companion of his elder brother, the Prince of Wales, later George IV. From an early age he was trained for a military career and between 1781 and 1787 he was sent to Hanover to study tactics and the rules of discipline, as well as languages. In 1789, having returned to Britain, he fought a duel with Colonel Charles Lennox, later 4^th Duke of Richmond (1764-1819), over accusations of an offence. Lennox missed and the Prince refused to return fire. In 1791 he married Frederica Charlotte, daughter of King William II of Prussia. However the marriage was not a success and they soon separated.

In 1793 York was promoted General and sent to Flanders in command of the British contingent of Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld’s army during the Flanders campaign of the French Revolutionary Wars. Despite several early successful engagements, including the Siege of Valenciennes and the Battle of Willems, and the Prince’s personal bravery in battle, the allies were comprehensively defeated at Tourcoing, in extremely difficult circumstances, and the British forces evacuated through Bremen in 1795. In 1799 Frederick again received a field command when he was appointed supreme commander of the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland. Despite initial tactical success, logistical inefficiencies within the British campaign and defeat at the Battle of Castricum resulted in the evacuation of British troops under the Convention of Alkmaar.

Frederick’s experience in the Dutch and Flemish wars made a strong impression on him, and highlighted the disastrous consequences upon the British army of years of neglect. As Commander-in-Chief he pushed through a massive programme of reform, weeding out incapable officers and cracking down on abuse and inefficiency. It was these reforms that were largely responsible for the effectiveness of the British forces serving in the Peninsula War, and in the opinion of the military historian Sir John Fortescue (1859-1933) Frederick did ‘more for the army than any one man has done for it in the whole of its history.’¹ In 1801 he actively supported the foundation of The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, with an emphasis on the promotion of professional, merit-based training for commissioned officers. In 1809, however, he was forced to resign as Commander-in-Chief as a result of a scandal caused by his mistress, Mary Anne Clarke, who was accused of illicitly selling commissions with Frederick’s protection. Two years later it was revealed that Clarke had in fact been receiving payments from the Duke’s chief accuser Gwyllym Wardle, radical Member of Parliament for Okehampton, and Frederick was reappointed Commander-in-Chief in 1811.  

A number of versions of this portrait are recorded by Garlick, who suggests that this picture, which descends from the Duke's brother, is the prime. A version was in the collection of the Duke of York’s younger brother, Prince Augustus, Duke of Sussex (1773-1843), which was sold at Christie’s on 9 June 1843, lot 134, to Mortimer, and another was previously in the collection of Mr and Mrs Eric Passmore (Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin). Another version was previously in the Hanover collection at Schloss Marienburg (sold Sotheby's, 8 October 2005, lot 1744).

1. D. Chandler and I.F.W. Beckett (eds.), The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Army,  Oxford 1994, p. 145.