Sherard Osborn

This portraitback to top

This portrait was engraved by H. Davis, published H. Graves, 1861 (example in NPG). Osborn is wearing the full-dress uniform of a naval captain with less than three years service (1856 pattern), and (top to bottom, left to right), the Bath (CB), the Legion d'Honneur (officer, 4th class), the order of the Medjidie (Ottoman Empire), the Arctic medal (1818-55), the China medal (1842 or 57), and the Crimean medal (1854-6). The date of the portrait was provided by the artist in a memorandum of c.1899 (NPG archives), where the name of the engraver is given as J. Scott, presumably an error.

Referenceback to top

Pearce 1903
S. Pearce, Memories of the Past (1903), p 60.

Physical descriptionback to top

Healthy complexion, dark eyes, dark brown hair and whiskers. Dressed in a dark stock, white shirt, dark blue naval uniform, with gold-braided collar and epaulettes, gilt buttons, white and silver medals and stars with multi-coloured ribbons. Background colour dark grey.

Provenanceback to top

Commissioned or purchased by Colonel John Barrow, and bequeathed by him, 1899.

Exhibitionsback to top

RA, 1857 (491); Royal Naval Exhibition, Chelsea, 1891 (51).


This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: Richard Ormond, Early Victorian Portraits, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1973, 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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