William Carr Beresford, Viscount Beresford

This portraitback to top

The portrait was painted for Henry Thomas Hope (1808-62), MP for Gloucester, stepson of Lord Beresford and friend of Disraeli. Hope inherited his father's famous house and picture gallery in Duchess Street in February 1831 and probably commissioned Rothwell to paint his stepfather in time for the RA summer exhibition that year. Rothwell had arrived in London in 1829. 'An artist has come from Dublin' said Landseer, 'who paints flesh as well as the Old Masters'. Maria Edgworth described a visit to old Henry Thomas Hope shortly before his death in 1831. 'The half-finished picture of his second son (Adrian) was in the corner beside his armchair as if to cheer his eyes. "By an Irish artist" he politely said to me, "of great talent"' (Life and Letters of Maria Edgworth, 1894, II, pp 176-8).

Physical descriptionback to top

Half-length in brown fur-trimmed pelisse over uniform, white collar; curly ginger hair bald on top, greyish-brown eyes looking upwards, fresh complexion; plain dark grey background. No inscription but a paper formerly on the back, removed and in registered packets in NPG archive 300, reads: Portrait of Viscount Beresford Painted for the gallery of Henry Hope M.P. - Richard Rothwell R.H.A. 13 Bedford Square London.

Provenanceback to top

Henry Hope MP and presented by his son Rt Hon Alexander J. B. Hope MP in 1870.

Exhibitionsback to top

RA 1831 (443) and possibly RA 1832 (376); 'Great Irishmen and Women', Ulster Museum, Belfast 1965 (14).


This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: Richard Walker, Regency Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, 1985, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.

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