William Carr Beresford, Viscount Beresford

1 portrait matching these criteria:

- subject matching 'Awards and trophies'

William Carr Beresford, Viscount Beresford, by E. (probably Elizabeth) Beresford; Sir William Beechey, 1815, based on a work of 1812-1814 -NPG 1180 - © National Portrait Gallery, London

© National Portrait Gallery, London

Regency Portraits Catalogue

William Carr Beresford, Viscount Beresford

by E. (probably Elizabeth) Beresford, after Sir William Beechey
1815, based on a work of 1812-1814
4 7/8 in. x 4 1/8 in. (124 mm x 105 mm)
NPG 1180

This portraitback to top

Beechey's original painting 1812-14 (not mentioned in W. Roberts, Sir William Beechey R.A., 1907 and location unknown) shows Beresford with only two Stars (Bath and Tower and Sword) and the two broad Ribbons without the Collar of Honour; a copy of this was at Christie's 30 April 1971 (15) and again 17 February 1972 (4). A later version was painted after the award of the Collar of Honour in 1814 and Turner's mezzotint made in the same year. Drawings for this Collar were first prepared in 1814 by command of the Prince Regent under the direction of Sir George Naylor, intended to commemorate the Duke's victories in the Peninsula and later altered to include the Battle of Waterloo. Wellington's Collar is in Apsley House (WM 1376.1948). E. Beresford, the copyist, was probably Elizabeth Beresford, great-granddaughter of the Marquess of Waterford, who married Felix Ladbroke of Headley, Surrey, in 1827.

Physical descriptionback to top

Head and shoulders in dark blue uniform, Stars and Ribbons of KB and Portuguese Order of the Tower and Sword (both awarded 1811), enamelled gold triumphant Collar of Honour and Peninsula Gold Cross; fierce blue eyes looking upwards, brown hair en brosse, top of head bald, brown side-whiskers. A paper formerly on the back, removed when remounted in 1966 and now in registered packets in NPG archive 1180, reads: Field Marshal Lord Beresford K.B. E. Beresford pinx March 1815 for her dear friend Lt. Col. Warre.

Provenanceback to top

Lieut.-General Sir William Warre who served with Beresford throughout the Corunna campaign and thereafter as ADC; family possession until presented by his descendant the Rev Francis Warre, Rector of Bemerton, in 1898.

Reproductionsback to top

(of Beechey's original)
Mezzotint by C. Turner published 21 September 1814 (Alfred Whitman, Charles Turner, 1907, 45); stipple by Tomkins published 1830 for Jerdan's National Portrait Gallery; both show the Collar of Honour with the names on the flags of the Peninsula actions Piranese, Salamanca, Vittoria and Neve.


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.

View all known portraits for Sir William Beechey

View all known portraits for William Carr Beresford, Viscount Beresford