3 OF 5 
Edward Vernon
3 of 5 portraits on display on Floor 1: Lady Chesterfield's Dressing Room at Beningbrough Hall
Edward Vernon
by Thomas Gainsborough
oil on canvas, circa 1753
49 3/4 in. x 40 7/8 in. (1264 mm x 1038 mm)
Purchased, 1891
Primary Collection
NPG 881
Click on the links below to find out more:
Artistback to top
- Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788), Portrait and landscape painter. Artist associated with 262 portraits, Sitter in 8 portraits.
This portraitback to top
Thomas Gainsborough's portrait shows Admiral Edward 'Old Grog' Vernon (1684-1757). He led the capture of the Spanish colonial possession of Porto Bello (now in Panama) during the War of Jenkins' Ear in 1739. Vernon's greatest claim to fame, was his 1740 order that his crew's rum rations should be diluted with water and have lemon juice added to prevent scurvy. The rest of the Navy rapidly followed, calling the new drink 'grog' after Vernon's nickname.
Linked publicationsback to top
- Kerslake, John, Early Georgian Portraits, 1977, p. 284
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 632
See this portrait
On display on Floor 1: Lady Chesterfield's Dressing Room at Beningbrough Hall
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