Regency Portraits Catalogue

King George IV (1762-1830), Regent 1811-19; Reigned 1820-30

The best account of the major portraiture of George IV and of his interest in art in general, is in Sir Oliver Millar's The Later Georgian Pictures in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, 1969, referred to here as Millar. The list below is by no means comprehensive and mainly excludes that vivid feature of the Regency, the huge corpus of personal and political satires by Cruikshank, John Doyle (HB), Gillray and others, which are described in detail in the British Museum Catalogues.

Prince of Wales
1762
Six medallets were issued in 1762 celebrating the birth of the Prince of Wales (Laurence Brown, British Historical Medals, 1980, 76-81).

1763
Wax by Joachim Smith, 'naked on a couch', and another aged 4 at Windsor Castle (Rupert Gunnis, Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851, 1953, 358).

Oil by W. Verelst at Christie's 7 May 1937 (78), in white satin dress with lace frills in a chair with Prince of Wales feathers.

Medals of Prince George and Prince Frederick (Laurence Brown, British Historical Medals, 1980, 84-6).

1764
Oil by Ramsay in Royal Collection, 'Queen Charlotte with her two eldest sons' (Millar, 998 and plate 3).

c.1765
Oil by Zoffany in Royal Collection, 'Queen Charlotte with her two eldest sons', the Prince of Wales in Roman costume and plumed helmet (Millar, 1199 and plates 26-8); another Zoffany, also in Windsor Castle, shows Prince George and Prince Frederick playing with a spaniel (Millar, 1200 and plate 29).

Large mezzotint by Watson after C. Read, with his brother Prince Frederick and a dog.

c.1767
Enamel miniature by Jeremiah Meyer exhibited Society of Artists 1767 (102); others by Meyer at RA 1769 (69) and 1774 (181).

1769
Chalk drawing by H. D. Hamilton in Royal Collection (A. P. Oppé, English Drawings … at Windsor Castle, 1950, plate 7).

c.1770
Oil by Zoffany in Royal Collection (Windsor Castle), 'George III, Queen Charlotte and their six eldest children in Van Dyck costume'; a preliminary sketch is in Buckingham Palace (Millar, 1201-3 and plates 31-3).

c.1771
Oil by Richard Brompton in Royal Collection, whole-length in Garter Robes aged 8 (Millar, 687).

Large oval mezzotint drawn and engraved by R. Lowrie (Laurie), three-quarter-length in Van Dyck costume with his brother Frederick, published 10 January 1772.

c.1772
Oil (?) by Gaetano Manini exhibited Society of Artists 1772 (113), 'The Establishment of the Academy of Arts'.

1777
Oil by Benjamin West in Royal Collection, whole-length in state robes with his brother Prince Frederick (Millar, 1143 and plate 110).

1780
Stone medallion by Joseph Wilton on façade of Somerset House.

1781-2
Seven oils by Gainsborough from 1781 are listed in Sir Ellis Waterhouse, Gainsborough, 1958, p 95. The earliest is in a private collection Havana given to Colonel Lake in 1781. The Royal Collection version was painted for George III in September-October 1782, head and shoulders in Windsor uniform, as one of the series 'Portraits of the Royal Family' exhibited RA 1783 (Millar, 780 and plate 50. The Aske Hall and Waddesdon Manor Gainsboroughs are whole-length standing by a horse under a tree, exhibited RA 1782 (77) and mezzotint by J. R. Smith 1783. A portrait commissioned in 1784 (Bodorgan) shows the Prince aged 22 in the uniform of the newly-formed Tenth (Prince of Wales's Own) Light Dragoons of which he became Colonel Commandant in 1793; it was given to Lord Heathfield with the head only finished and completed later possibly by Agasse (Millar, 'Gainsborough and George IV: a Lost Portrait' in Burlington Magazine, September 1967, p 531).

1783
Drawing for a miniature by John Smart in Royal Collection, signed and dated 1783, and engraved by Sailliar 1785 (both in Country Life, 5 September 1941, p 433); the miniature itself was with Wildenstein Paris in Drawing by Edmund Scott in an album in private collection, head and shoulders in uniform and plumed hat of 10th Light Dragoons; it was used, probably by Flaxman, for a Wedgwood oval medallion at Barlaston, first issued in March 1783 (Robin Reilly & George Savage, Wedgwood: the Portrait Medallions, 1973, p 168).

Three oils by Reynolds are listed in Sir Ellis Waterhouse, Reynolds, 1941, p 90:
(1) RA 1784 (70), presented by the Prince to Peniston Lamb, Viscount Melbourne and thereafter at Brocket Hall; exhibited RA Bicentenary 1968-9 (73); whole-length standing by his horse in cavalry uniform holding sword; a small version is at Earlywood (Earl of Portarlington).
(2) RA 1785 (155), presented by the Prince to Wilson Braddyll, then in Sir Robert Peel's collection and acquired by the National Gallery with most of the Peel collection in 1871 (Martin Davies, The British School (NG 1959), pp 82-3); now in the Tate Gallery; head and shoulders to left on mahogany panel wearing Star of Garter on a dark blue coat; enamel copy by H. Bone exhibited RA 1828 (502).
(3) RA 1787 (90), presented by the Prince to the Earl of Moira and now at Arundel Castle (17); exhibited RA 1951 (98); whole-length in Garter Robes with a negro page; a copy by Hoppner c.1790 is in the Mansion House, York.
Another oil by Reynolds, whole-length in Garter Robes painted from sittings in 1789 was probably destroyed in the fire at Carlton House 1824; it was engraved by both Heath and S. W. Reynolds; the head is similar to NG 890.

Anon. medal celebrating his majority (Laurence Brown, British Historical Medals, 250).

Miniature by C. R. Herter 'being his first attempt before he was 15 years of age, 1783' (Copy of Thomas Phillips’s original Sitter Book 1796-1843) 23 May 1979 (128)).

1784
Medal celebrating his birthday (Laurence Brown, British Historical Medals, 257).

c.1784
Miniature by Cosway in Royal Collection, in uniform of Tenth Light Dragoons; exhibited 'George III Collector and Patron', Queen's Gallery, 1974-5 (146). Cosway was appointed Miniature Painter to the Prince of Wales in about 1786 and thereafter painted numerous portraits of his patron, the Cosway Accounts in the Royal Archives listing at least thirty. A drawing at St Giles's House (Earl of Shaftesbury), whole-length in fancy dress with cane, engraved by Sailliar and published by Cosway himself in 1787; a miniature of the head only of this was at Christie's 19 June 1973.

c.1785
Engraved gem by W. Brown exhibited RA 1785 (362).

Miniature by Jeremiah Meyer in Royal Collection, exhibited Queen's Gallery 1974-5 (4).

c.1786
Cameo by W. Whitley exhibited RA 1786 (269).

c.1787
Model, probably a wax relief, by John Lochée exhibited RA 1787 (629) and now in British Museum (T. Hodgkinson, 'John Lochée: Portrait Sculptor' in V&A Yearbook, 1969, pp 152-3); a pale blue jasper dip Wedgwood medallion by Lochée was lent by Nottingham Castle Museum to the Wedgwood Portraits Exhibition, NPG 1973 (46); a marble bust by Lochée, awarded a medal by the Society of Arts, was exhibited RA 1790 (538), engraved by Sharp 1791, and with Wildenstein Paris in 1969.

Oil by Vander Puyl exhibited RA 1787 (98) as 'small whole length in Garter Robes' was possibly a copy of the Reynolds.

c.1788
Wax relief by Mountstephen exhibited RA 1788 (619).

1789
Medal issued as 'Prince Regent' (Laurence Brown, British Historical Medals, 1980, 321-2).

c.1789
Oil by James Barry in Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, whole-length as St George, exhibited 'Irish Portraits', NPG, 1969 (66); the Prince appears in a similar pose but Garter Robes in Barry's Distribution of the Premiums in the Royal Society of Arts mural painting, John Adam Street, London.

Oil by Mather Brown in Royal Collection, whole-length in fancy uniform (Millar, 691 and plate 132).

Miniature by Shirreff exhibited RA 1789.

1791
Oil by Stubbs in Royal Collection, whole-length riding a chestnut horse (Millar, 1109 and plate 139).

c.1791
Pastel by John Russell at Antony House, Cornwall, is probably that exhibited RA 1791 (158); a version is in Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University. An oil by Russell, whole-length in Royal Kentish Bowman uniform and dated 1791, is in Royal Collection (Millar, 1051 and plate 131); a black and red chalk drawing of the head only, inscribed: Drawn from the life, John Russell, 1794, is in Courtauld Institute collection, exhibited RA Winter 1956-7 (660).

1792
Oil by Hoppner exhibited RA 1792 (120) and possibly that in the Wallace Collection, bought by the Prince from Hoppner's widow in 1810 and given to the Marquess of Hertford. In this, a three-quarter-length in riding habit and Star of the Garter, the Prince appears to be several years younger than in Hoppner's Garter portrait in Buckingham Palace (RA 1796). Hoppner had been appointed Portrait Painter to the Prince of Wales in 1789, possibly leading to the Wallace Collection portrait, though the question is fraught with uncertainty.

Medal by W. Barnett with proofs exhibited RA 1792 (302), King Alfred giving bread to a pilgrim on reverse (illus. Laurence Brown, British Historical Medals, 1980, 361).

Oil or watercolour by W. N. Gardiner engraved by N. Young for Sentimental and Masonic Magazine, 1792.

Line engraving by W. Grainger, profile in Cooke's British Novels.

Enamel by Grimaldi exhibited RA 1792 (260).

Engraving by E. Scott, three-quarter-length as Grand Master of Freemasons.

Mezzotint by J. R. Smith, whole-length standing with horse.

Coloured etching by Gillray, 'A VOLUPTUARY under the horrors of Digestion'.

Miniature by Richard Cosway (NPG 5389).

1793
Miniature by Richard Bull in Royal Collection, exhibited Queen's Gallery 5977 (133), in uniform of Tenth Light Dragoons; Bull also exhibited miniatures RA 1797 (897), 1803 (827), 1805 (37) and 1808 (724).

Miniature by H. de Janvry (NPG 1761).

1794
Oil by De Koster, large mezzotint by S. W. Reynolds 1794 (Alfred Whitman, S. W. Reynolds, 1903, 103).

Miniature by I. Cruikshank engraved by Murray for the Pocket Magazine 1794.

1795
The Prince of Wales was married to the Princess Caroline on 8 April 1795; the scene in the Chapel Royal was painted by William Hamilton, the sketch being in the Royal Collection (Millar, 827 and plate 172). An oil by Graham was engraved in mezzotint by J. Daniell. Medals were issued by Whitley, Küchler, Milton and Twigg.

Wax profiles by T. R. Poole (NPG 3308).

1796
Satire by Gillray 'Hint to Modern Sculptors as an Ornament to a future Square', 3 May 1796.

Rossi - 'small head of him in the uniform of the 10th Regt of Dragoons' (Farington, Diary, 27 July 1796). Rossi was appointed Sculptor to the Prince of Wales in 1797 and produced busts of his patron frequently thereafter; a terracotta for Brighton in 1801, a marble exhibited RA 1804 (842), and another of 1815 is in Carlisle; Flaxman said that Rossi's busts of the Prince of Wales were worth all Nollekens's busts (Farington, Diary, 7 February 1805).

c.1796
Miniature by Spicer exhibited RA 1796 (588).

Oil by Beach exhibited RA 5797 (470).

Oil by Beechey in Burlington House, exhibited RA 1797 (91) and Beechey's diploma work 1798, three-quarter-length in uniform of Tenth Light Dragoons; a second version, painted in 1803 and with slightly lighter hair, is in Royal Collection (Millar, 664 and plate 162); an unfinished enamel copy attributed to Bone was at Christie's 24 May 1977 (62; line engraving by Bennet was published 1 June 1805. The original is probably linked with Beechey's 'King George III at a Review' in the Royal Collection (Millar, 660 and plate 161) in which the Prince in uniform as Colonel of the 10th Light Dragoons brandishes a sabre and watches a mock battle between the 3rd (Prince of Wales's Own) Dragoon Guards and the 10th (Prince of Wales's Own) Light Dragoons. The 'Review' was begun in 1797; Farington records the Prince sitting for Beechey in Buckingham Palace 2 February 1798, and it was ready for the RA exhibition in May 5798. A full-size copy is at Plas-Newydd (Lord Anglesey), an oil sketch is in V&A Museum, and several small copies exist.

Oil by Hoppner exhibited RA 5796 (98) and probably that now in Buckingham Palace, whole-length in Garter Robes; an unfinished copy by Owen is in St James's Palace (Millar, 834 and 852).

1797
Double portrait by Winstanley of the Prince gazing lovingly at the Princess of Wales, engraved by Maud Sloane and published by Schiavonetti 52 April 1797.

c.1798-9
Silhouette by Charles Rosenberg at Althorp, Royal Group on the Esplanade at Weymouth, reproduced Sue McKechnie, British Silhouette Artists and their Work 1760-1860, 1978, 66.

c.1798
Miniature in enamel by Henry Bone in Royal Collection, exhibited RA 1798 (878).

1799
Oil by Hoppner noted by Farington 14 August and 12 December 1799.

Aquatint by Wright and Ziegler after Adam Buck, whole-length in Garter Robes published 1799.

1800
Oil by R. Livesay at Hatfield House, 'The Grand Review of Troops at Hatfield by King George III on 13 June 1800'.

c.1800
Miniature by J. Langdon exhibited RA 1800 (822).

1802
Engraving by Gillray 10 March 1802, nearly back view, hair with cockatoo crest, its powder sprinkling the back of his collar, coat with shirt protruding through the tails (two coloured impressions in NPG Works of James Gillray, vol.5).

Medal by J. G. Hancock as Grand Master of Freemasons, with the Duke of Clarence (Laurence Brown, British Historical Medals, 530).

c.1802
Miniature by J. T. Barber exhibited RA 5802 (722) together with portraits of the Dukes of York, Clarence and Kent.

1803-4
Oil by Mme Vigée Le Brun at Earlywood (Lord Portarlington), three-quarter-length in uniform of 10th Light Dragoons (dark blue and silver - colour plate in NPG); the original was given by the Prince to Mrs Fitzherbert and thence by descent to the present owner; a large enamel copy by Bone in the Royal Collection was exhibited 'Queen Mary's Art Treasures', V&A Museum, 1954; Bone's squared-up drawing is in NPG library (Henry Bone’s annotated pencil drawings for miniatures and enamels, II, 34) inscribed: H.R.H. the Prince of Wales after Mme Le Brun/for H.R.H. Augst 1804; a small copy by Bone is in Ashmolean Museum, Bentinck-Hawkins collection 87. The Prince's hair now has a new style - neater and less windswept, unpowdered and with prominent side-whiskers especially in the Bone copies.

1804-10
Oil by Copley in Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - a huge equestrian group, the Prince in field marshal's uniform followed by several officers and with the mounted troops of the 10th Light Dragoons in the distance; it was begun in 1804 though the Prince did not give a sitting till 1809; it was exhibited RA 1810 (58) and engraved by C. W. Thompson, 1 January 1813 with a dedication to Princess Charlotte, but the picture itself was declined by the Prince with the pretext that he believed it to have been 'a Public work like the Death of Lord Chatham'.

1804
Ink and watercolour drawing by Robert Dighton in Royal Collection, as Prince of Wales on a white horse (A. P. Oppé, English Drawings … at Windsor Castle, 1950, 184).

Wax by Percy in Royal Collection (Windsor Castle), possibly that exhibited RA 1804 (957); another in pink wax was at Sotheby's 29 October 1973 (117).

1806
Four oils by Phillips are recorded in his Sitter Book in NPG archive:
(1) Three-quarter-length in Hussar's uniform, '7 April 1806 221 large half length' - exhibited RA 1806 (90); mezzotint by Barney published September 1807 and engravings thereafter by Schiavonetti 1809 (head and shoulders only from an original picture in Phillips's own collection), Cousins, Freeman 1817, Holl and S. W. Reynolds 1823; Skelton's drawing for an engraving is in the British Museum (Laurence Binyon, Catalogue of Drawings by British Artists … in the British Museum, IV, p 102); Bone's drawing for an enamel, dated August 1814, is in NPG library (Henry Bone’s annotated pencil drawings, 1186). A miniature copy by Paul Fischer, signed and dated 1820, is in the Royal Collection (Windsor Castle). The location of Phillips's original portrait is unknown but it may have been destroyed in the fire at Canton House as Phillips's accounts in the Royal Archives, dated 17 April 1806, record £52.10s for a portrait of the Prince of Wales and £20 for its frame (Millar, p 91).
(2) Whole-length in Garter Robes, '1809 272 large whole length in Garter Robes for Earl Fitzwilliam', exhibited RA 1809 (67) and later at Wentworth Woodhouse.
(3) Equestrian with Colonel Charles Wyndham, 'January 1813 359 The Prince Regent on Horseback for the Earl of Egremont 12ft by 9 ft' - exhibited RA 1813 (68) and still at Petworth, signed: TP 1813; a sketch for this was mentioned by Farington, 19 March 1812. Phillips made a copy for a print on 4 August 1815, probably used for Ward's large mezzotint published by Colnaghi 2 May 1816.
(4) The Allied Sovereigns at Petworth 24 June 1814. 'November 1817 Finished at Petworth the Picture of the Royal visit there in 1814 in which are portraits of the Emperor of Russia, the King of Prussia, the Prince Regent, the Prince of Wirtenberg, the Duchess of Oldenburgh, the Prince of Oldenburgh, Prince William of Prussia, General Swaroff, Count Lieven, Earl of Yarmouth, Sir H. M. Grove Turner, Berkeley Craven, Rev Dr Clarke, Earl of Egremont and his family (6), Rev T. Lockett and myself. size l.h.l.'. The picture is in the North Gallery at Petworth.

c.1806
Silhouette by Rosenberg in Royal Collection (Windsor Castle). Whole-length with the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz: 'Mon Prince et mon Prince'.

1807-8
Plaster bust by Nollekens exhibited RA 1808 (978), marble copies at Belvoir Castle (1815) and Ferens Art Gallery, Kingston-on-Hull; sitting at Carlton House noted by Farington, 11 January 1807.

1807-22
Oils by Stroehling who described himself as 'Historical Painter to the Prince of Wales'. Several portraits are mentioned in the Prince's papers in the Royal Archives, the earliest being January 1808 given to Colonel McMahon (Millar, p 119); a Stroehling picture of the Prince as the Black Prince was probably destroyed in the Carlton House fire; a small whole-length on copper, in Hussar's uniform and attributed to Beechey was at Sotheby Parke Bernet 7 June 1978 (112) and again, re-attributed to Stroehling, on 11 January 1979 (108); an oval miniature of the head and shoulders only was at Christie's 16 December 1975 (76); an equestrian whole-length on copper in similar uniform, now in a private collection, was given by the Prince to Lady Conyngham in 1822, possibly similar to one sent to Blücher in November 1814.

1807
Oil by Hoppner in the Corporation of Liverpool collection, exhibited RA 1807 (74) and 'Kings and Queens of England' Liverpool 1953 (37), whole-length standing in Garter Robes; mezzotint by Say published 1812. A whole-length copy by William Owen is in King's College, Strand.

Intaglio by T. Warner exhibited RA 1807 (916).

1808
Medal by Peter Rouw commemorated the laying of the foundation stone of Covent Garden Theatre 1808, copy at Sotheby's 5 June 1975 (203); the same head, struck by Barber, was used on a tortoiseshell box in the British Museum; a variant, signed and dated: London 1812 is in V&A Museum and another of 1815 is in E. J. Pyke collection; another was exhibited RA 1825 (963).

1809
Medal by J. Barber (Laurence Brown, British Historical Medals, 1980, 658).

1810
Wax profile by Rouw exhibited RA 1810 (646).

c.1810
Oil by Harlow in private collection Worcestershire, exhibited RA 1810 (283) and the original of a mezzotint by Ward published Thomson 6 February 1811, whole-length on horseback in Hussar's uniform brandishing sword, lettered: … His Royal Highness George Prince of Wales Regent of the United Kingdom … (John Chaloner Smith, British Mezzotint Portraits, 40).

Prince Regent
The Regency Bill was enacted in February 1811 and medals commemorating the occasion were designed by Barber, Harnisch, Morel, Westwood, and P. and T. Wyon; an impression of T. Wyon's medal was exhibited RA 1811 (692) (illus. Laurence Brown, British Historical Medals, 1980, 706).

c.1811
Enamel by J. T. Mitchell exhibited RA 1811 (676).

1812
Miniature by Andrew Robertson in private collection Edinburgh, exhibited 'British Portrait Miniatures' Edinburgh 1965 (330), inscribed on verso: The Prince Regent from a miniature for which he sat in 1812. One of my best.

Enamel by Horace Hone at Sotheby's 20 July 1981 (100), signed and dated 1812, exhibited RA 1813 (7).

c.1812
Gems by W. Brown and J. Wicksteed exhibited RA 1812 (620 and 643).

1814
Oils by Lawrence are listed in Kenneth Garlick, ‘Catalogue of Paintings, Drawings and Pastels of Sir Thomas Lawrence’ in Walpole Society Journal, XXXIX, 1964, pp 86-8 and Millar, pp xxxii-xxxvii and summarised as follows:
(1) '¾ portrait, the original from which all the state pictures were painted' in Lawrence sale Christie's 18 June 1831 (198) bought Gen. Grosvenor, untraced but possibly NPG 123.
(2) RA 1815 (65), whole-length in field marshal's uniform, painted for Lord Charles Stewart and still at Wynyard Park; replica at Tabley House and repetitions in Dublin etc. (see NPG 2503). Miniature copy by Henry Bone, signed and dated September 1815, was at Sotheby's 19 October 1981 (48). Squared-up pencil drawing by Henry Bone in NPG library.
(3) RA 1818 (61), whole-length in Garter Robes in National Gallery Dublin; numerous variants were painted after his succession in 1820, e.g. Rome, Slane Castle and Buckingham Palace. Henry Bone's squared-up drawing for an enamel is in the NPG library.
(4) RA 1822 (77), whole-length in Coronation Robes in St James's Palace (Millar, 873 and plate 216); repetitions at Burlington House, Walker Art Gallery Liverpool and Goodwood.
(5) 1822, whole-length seated on a sofa, in Wallace Collection with 12 repetitions and variants listed in Kenneth Garlick, ‘Catalogue of Paintings, Drawings and Pastels of Sir Thomas Lawrence’ in Walpole Society Journal, XXXIX, 1964; mezzotints after Lawrence by Turner, published 1824 and by Finden, published 1829. Head and shoulders copy by Davy is at Marienburg and two enamel miniature copies, one by Henry Bone, signed and dated 1829, are at Calenberg.
(6) Unfinished profile (NPG 123).
Garlick, ‘Catalogue of Paintings, Drawings and Pastels of Sir Thomas Lawrence’ in Walpole Society Journal, XXXIX, 1964, pp 227-8 also lists four chalk drawings; the fourth bought by Lord Chesterfield at the Lawrence sale in 1831, has been acquired by HM The Queen Mother and was in the Lawrence Exhibition NPG 1979.

Oil by George Jones at Magdalen College, Oxford, 'The Reception of the Prince Regent in Oxford June 1814'; the Prince, the Duke of York and the Prince of Orange are welcomed by the Lord Mayor and the Chancellor and a group of officials in the High Street outside the Queen's College.

Peace medals by Barber, Halliday, Mills ('England gives Peace to the World'), Westwood, and T. Wyon; a National Jubilee Medal by W. Wyon.

c.1814
Miniature by Charlotte Jones in Holburne Museum, Bath, head and shoulders in armour possibly from Lawrence's profile.

Miniature by H. D. Thielcke, head in profile to right wearing laurels, engraved and published by Thielcke himself 12 August 1814; it was re-issued on 10 July 1815, three weeks after Waterloo.

1815
Waterloo Medal designed by T. Wyon (NPG 5575); an impression was exhibited RA 1816 (869); see Mayo, I, pp 205-7.

1816
Watercolour drawing by W. Heath, signed and dated 1816, whole-length in uniform of 1st Life Guards, Sotheby's 24 July 1980 (74).

1817
Medal by G. Mills exhibited RA 1817 (952); a Pattern Crown by Mills dated 1820 and known as the Whiteaves Crown (L. Forrer, Dictionary of British Medallists, 1972, p 80) was in 'Kings and Queens' exhibition, RA 1953 (258), lent by A. H. Baldwin and Sons Ltd.

1818
Oils by Lawrence, see 1814 above.

1820-5
Cameos by Apsley Pellatt decorating crystal goblets, scent bottles and paper-weights, in Royal Collection (Country Life, 3 June 1949, pp 1304-5).

1820
Accession medals were designed by Binfield, Durand, Halliday, Renkin, Webb, T. Wyon and others, examples in British Museum (illus. Laurence Brown, British Historical Medals, 1980, 1010).

1821-2
A spate of miniatures appeared in 1821, probably at the time of the Coronation or shortly afterwards: by Abraham Wivell, a drawing published by W. Sams May 1823; by S. W. Reynolds, mezzotint published by himself 24 October 1821; by J. C. D. Engleheart, Sotheby's 15 March 1982 (113); by G. P. Harding engraved by J. Thomson to commemorate the visit to Edinburgh. They all appear '¼-face to left, with or without Golden Fleece and Star of Garter, and with the same short curly hair-style. A variant by Paul Fischer, head and shoulders framed in the Garter surround, is in the Royal Collection (Windsor Castle 14191) among a page of pencil drawings of the Princess Royal and others.

1821-6
Busts and statues by Chantrey (see NPG 316a(53-7).

1821
Coronation; scenes in Parliament Square, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Hall on 19 July 1821 were painted by Stephanoff, Wild and A. C. Pugin, engraved in aquatint and published in Sir George Nayler's Coronation of George IV; several watercolour drawings by these artists are in the V&A Museum; and an oil by Frederick Nash was exhibited RA 1823 (283). Medals were struck for the occasion designed by Halliday, Mills, Mossop, Pistrucci, Voigt, Webb and T. Wyon senior and junior (Laurence Brown, British Historical Medals, 1980, 1069). Medal by A. J. Stothard was exhibited RA 1821 (1021), Stothard continuing to design medals throughout the reign and announcing himself in the RA Catalogue 1827 as Medal Engraver in Ordinary to His Majesty.

The visit to Ireland was painted in oils by T. C. Thompson and commemorated in medals by Halliday, Mills, Mossop, Parkes, Pistrucci and B. Wyon (Laurence Brown, British Historical Medals, 1980, 1117-37).

c.1821
Silhouette by F. Atkinson, 'George III with his Sons and Sons-in-Law', Wellesley sale Christie's 19 June 1917 (133) reproduced in One Hundred Silhouette Portraits Selected from the Collection of Francis Wellesle, 1912, plate I, and see Sue McKechnie, British Silhouette Artists, 1978, pp 186-6.

1822
Oils by Lawrence, see 1814 above.

The visit to Scotland was painted in oils by Wilkie, 'The Entrance of George IV at Holyroodhouse' in the Royal Collection (Millar, 1184 and plate 282; A. P. Oppé, English Drawings … at Windsor Castle, 1950, p 102); a modello on panel and a pencil and watercolour drawing are in Scottish NPG (1040 and 2218) and numerous sketches exist; a Wilkie sketchbook of various studies in pencil, pastel and ink was at Christie's and Edmiston's Glasgow 10 December 1981 (6). An oil by Alexander Carse 'Landing at Leith' in City of Edinburgh Art Collection. Two oils by Turner in the Tate Gallery (2857-8) are probably 'works in progress' towards a series commemorating the Royal visit (Butlin and Joll, Turner, 1977, 247-8). Medals were struck for the occasion designed by Bain, Faulkner, Halliday, Mossop, Webb and others (Laurence Brown, British Historical Medals, 1980, 1178-97).

Drawing by Agostino Aglio was 'submitted to His Majesty's inspection & approved by Him 19th Decr 1822' and published in lithograph, 1 January 1823.

Coloured lithograph by G. M. Brighty was published June 1822 'from the original painting in her possession'.

Bust by T. Kirk exhibited Liverpool Academy 1822 (Rupert Gunnis, Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851, 1953, p 230).

Statue by Behnes for Dublin finished by Panormo in 1846.

Drawing by Wageman engraved by Woolnoth for The Ladies' Monthly Museum, 1822, half-length in private dress with Star.

Intaglio by W. Warner exhibited RA 1822 (956).

1823
Oil by A. Wivell, mezzotint by Lupton published Sams, 1 January 1824, head and shoulders in uniform, Golden Fleece and Star of Garter.

Medals by Bain (Literary Society), I. S. (His Greatness), B. Wyon (Brighton Pier) and W. Wyon (Southampton).

1824
Oil by Northcote, 'Portrait of King George the fourth on a white Horse with his Equary moving aside the Green Curtain promised for Sixty Guineas to Mr Poynder, 9ft 6in by 5ft 10, now in Goldsmiths Hall presented by J Bigg Esq.' (James Northcote's list of paintings, p 43 with two others for Mr Sams - one was in the Marquess of Hertford sale, Phillips 9-12 July 1855 lot 122). W. Say's large mezzotint (undated) shows him on a dark horse, according to The Literary Gazette, 1828, p 219 King Charles I's horse at Charing Cross.

Medals by Halliday (Devonport), Pistrucci (Trident) and anon. (Norwich Music Festival).

1825
Watercolour drawing by G. Atkinson engraved by Scriven (see NPG 1691a).

c.1825
Model for a statue by S. Gahagan exhibited RA 1825 (1062); equestrian statue by R. Henderson exhibited RA 1825 (1014); marble cabinet bust by E. Physick exhibited RA 1825 (1013) and SBA 1826 (741) and British Institution 1828; medal published by Rundell & Bridge (to Indian Chiefs).

1826
Oil by Jackson, mezzotint by Reynolds and Cousins published Sams May 1826, head and shoulders in private dress and Star (Alfred Whitman, Samuel Cousins, 1904, 105).

Bust by T. Farrell exhibited RHA 1826.

Oil by T. C. Thompson exhibited RA 1826 (71), mezzotint by C. Turner (Alfred Whitman, Charles Turner, 1907, 221); Thompson's self-portrait with the George IV portrait before him is in Irish NPG (583); Thompson's 'Landing of King George IV at Kingstown 1821' is in the Royal Dublin Society collection, and another version at Slane Castle.

Medals by W. Wyon (Royal Society Newton Bicentenary) and intaglios by Coffee and Weigall exhibited RA 1826 (977 and 933). An 1826 pattern five-pounds by Wyon was at Sotheby's 12 November 1975 (164).

1827
Oil by Bowyer, mezzotint by J. Bromley published by Bowyer, half-length in private dress and Star of Garter.

Wax bust by D. Morison in private collection and another in R. Gunnis sale Christie's 19 April 1966 lot 186 (E. J. Pyke, Dictionary of Wax Modellers, 1973, p 95).

Medals by A. J. Stothard (Great Man), W. Wyon (Bombay Mint) and Wyon's Prize Medal for Royal Naval College exhibited RA 1827 (1044), at Sotheby's 12 November 1975 (164).

Silhouette by Crowhurst of Brighton (NPG 1691a).

c.1827
Drawing by F. R. Say, engraved in mezzotint by W. Say and published May 1827 by W. Sams 'Book & Printseller to the Royal Family opposite St James's Palace', head and shoulders in uniform, Golden Fleece and Star of the Bath.

1828
Oil by J. Holmes at Temple Newsam House, line engraving by himself 1828, half-length in private dress with Golden Fleece and Star of Garter.

Medal by Stothard (Windsor Restored).

c.1828
Wax model by W. Pickman exhibited SBA 1828 (914).

Intaglio by N. Valintine exhibited RA 1828.

1829
Drawing by John Doyle in British Museum, 'George IV at Ascot' (Laurence Binyon, Catalogue of Drawings by British Artists … in the British Museum, 360).

Drawing by R. T. Stothard 'from a sketch taken at Ascot 1829', engraved by Stothard himself.

Marble bust by Joseph Theakston in Buckingham Palace surmounting a magnificent chimneypiece in the Grand Hall (reproduced Clifford Smith, Buckingham Palace, 1931, p 131).

Medals by Halliday (Patron of Arts and Art of Coining) and Wyon (Royal Academy).

1830
Oil by J. W. Gear in private collection, whole-length in state robes with Crown, signed and dated 1830.

Oil by Wilkie at Apsley House, whole-length in Highland dress signed and dated 1830.

Wax statuette by J. Cave in V&A Museum, whole-length seated on a sofa, signed and dated 1830.

Bust by W. Hollins exhibited Birmingham Society of Arts (Rupert Gunnis, Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851, 1953, 207).

Bust by S. Joseph exhibited RA 1830 (1265); another dated 1831 in V&A Museum reproduced Margaret Whinney, V&A Museum: English Sculpture 1720-1830 (52).

Model by W. H. Taylor exhibited Birmingham Society of Arts (Rupert Gunnis, Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851, 1953, p 383).

Watercolour drawing by A. C. Pugin in Royal Collection, 'The Body of King George IV Lying in State in Westminster Hall' (A. P. Oppé, English Drawings … at Windsor Castle, 1950, 483).

Medals commemorating the death of the King on 25 June 1830 were designed by Avern, Bain, Binfield, Durand, Halliday, Ingram (with William IV on reverse), Kettle, Merlen, Stothard, Tassie and several anon.

c.1831
Marble bust by T. Grimsley exhibited RA 1831 (1167).

Sketch for an heroic monument by J. C. F. Rossi exhibited SBA 1831 (913); Rossi had held the post of Sculptor to the Prince of Wales from 1797 and continued as Sculptor in Ordinary to William IV but the monument was never executed.

1842-5
Oil by B. R. Haydon, in Royal Hospital, Chelsea, on horseback with the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo.

1843
Statue in Trafalgar Square begun by Chantrey in 1829, finished by Thomas Earle 1843.

c.1844
Bronze statue by Sir Edward Thomason made for Birmingham but probably melted down (Rupert Gunnis, Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851, 1953, p 395).

1866
Statue by William Theed formerly in Palace of Westminster, now in the Old Bailey.

1944
Oils by Rex Whistler in Royal Pavilion, Brighton: (1) 'Allegory: HRH the Prince Regent awakening the Spirit of Brighton' and (2) 'Georgius IV Rex'; both were painted in a Welsh Guards billet, 39 Preston Park Avenue, Brighton, shortly before the invasion of France in June 1944 (Laurence Whistler and Ronald Fuller, Rex Whistler, 1960, p 13 and plates 30-1).

Undated
Silhouette by 'Monsieur' Edgar Adolphe, probably posthumous (Sue McKechnie, British Silhouette Artists, 1978, 649).

Bronze equestrian statuette by E. H. Baily at Windsor Castle.

Oil by Clint in the Guildhall, 'George IV at a Banquet given by the Corporation of London'.

Oil by Dawe, sketch of a whole-length life-size standing portrait in Sir George Scharf’s Trustees Sketchbooks, X 41.

Drawing in Indian ink by Conrad Metz in the British Museum, whole-length as Prince of Wales (Laurence Binyon, Catalogue of Drawings by British Artists … in the British Museum, III, p 103).

Marble bust by Olivieri in T. Robson sale 1835 (Rupert Gunnis, Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851, 1953, p 283), possibly a copy of Nollekens.

Oil by M. W. Peters destroyed by fire in Freemasons' Hall, London (W. G. Strickland, Dictionary of Irish Artists, 1913, II, p 234).

Oil by Pickersgill at Sotheby's 4 October 1978 (334), head and shoulders with Golden Fleece and Star of Garter, based on Lawrence.

Miniature by Nathaniel Plimer (Daphne Foskett, Dictionary of British Miniature Painters, 1972, p 451).

Oil by Raeburn at Slane Castle (Marquess of Sligo), engraved in mezzotint by Hodgetts, seated in private dress holding book.

Drawing by E. Scott engraved by T. F. Ranson, half-length in private dress with Star, as Prince of Wales.

Oil by Shee in Burlington House (W. G. Strickland, Dictionary of Irish Artists, 1913, II, p 339).

Bust by John Smyth in Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin (W. G. Strickland, Dictionary of Irish Artists, 1913, II, p 392).

Oil by Gilbert Stuart, location unknown; Stuart was in London in the 1780s as an enthusiastic admirer of the Prince of Wales whom he is said to have painted (G. C. Mason, Gilbert Stuart, 1879).

Drawing by F. Vincent, lithographed and published for Bell's Life in London and Sporting Chronicle, 1820-30).

Miniature by Violet exhibited SKM 1865 (2628), engraved by Bartolozzi, in a broad-brimmed hat, possibly c.1800 (example in British Museum).



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.