Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Inscriptionback to top

The original label from the back (now in NPG archive) reads: Miniature of the Duke of Wellington on ivory/in scarlet uniform with star & ribbon of the Bath/Presented by his Grace the Late Duke of Wellington to Francis Rose Osborn/2nd Batt^ion Grenadier Guards Servant to Colonel Elise (? Ellis).

This portraitback to top

The miniature shows the sitter in uniform but wearing only one epaulette which should indicate a date before 1791 - the general order of 30 June 1791 decreed that Light Infantry officers among others should wear two epaulettes. However Wellington in 1791 would have been aged 22, patently absurd for this miniature. The Ribbon and Star of KB (awarded in 1804) have clearly been added later and the miniature appears to be a free variation of one of the 14 portraits by Robert Home.

Physical descriptionback to top

Head and shoulders to right in uniform, scarlet coat with blue and gold facings, epaulette on his right shoulder, Ribbon and Star of KB; light brown hair parted in the middle, dark eyebrows, grey eyes, pale complexion; blue cloudy background.

Provenanceback to top

Given by Wellington to Guardsman Francis Rose Osborn; given to the NPG by Edward Cock 1885.


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 Robert Home

View all known portraits for Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington