William Sotheby

Inscriptionback to top

Stamped: T Brown/High Holborn/London/957/7/7.

This portraitback to top

A sitting is recorded by Diary of Joseph Farington, 18 May 1807: 'Lawrence I called on. Sotheby came to sit for his portrait.' The NPG drawing may have been a preliminary study for this portrait but at Lawrence's death in 1830 the two were still unfinished and were collected from the studio by Mr W. Sotheby (Kenneth Garlick, ‘Catalogue of Paintings, Drawings and Pastels of Sir Thomas Lawrence’ in Walpole Society Journal, XXXIX, 1964, 315, no.401). The oil, also an oval sketch, was exhibited Third Exhibition of National Portraits, South Kensington, 1868 (164) lent by Colonel Sotheby and 'Lawrence Exhibition', Bristol, 1951 (38); it was sold among the Sotheby heirlooms, Sotheby's 12 October 1955 (101) bought by Mrs Sotheby.

Provenanceback to top

Sotheby family, Ecton Hall; Sotheby heirlooms at Sotheby's 12 October 1955 (101) bought Leggatt for the NPG.

Reproductionsback to top

Chalk manner by F. C. Lewis (undated).


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 Thomas Lawrence

View all known portraits for William Sotheby