Richard Colley Wellesley, Marquess Wellesley

Inscriptionback to top

Incised: J. Bacon/Sculptor.

This portraitback to top

The bust was an outcome of the decision to set up a statue of Wellesley in India, announced by Farington, Diary, 30 May 1805 and 29 April 1806: 'Rossi called & informed me that Col. Kidd (Kyd) had informed him that Bacon had got the order for the Statue of Lord Wellesley. The Artists voted for Rossi, - others, a majority, voted for Bacon.' There are two statues in Calcutta and Bombay, and Bacon exhibited another bust, probably for Ireland, RA 1822 (1027).

Provenanceback to top

Robert Vernon; Vernon Bequest to the nation 1847; transferred from the National Gallery in 1895.

Exhibitionsback to top

RA, 1808 (985) and (or another) RA, 1822 (1027); 'The Villas of Regents Park', Bedford College, 1981.


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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