| Portrait of Lord Castlereagh | |
| Artist: | Thomas Lawrence |
| Year: | 1809 |
| Type: | Oil on canvas, portrait |
| Height Metric: | 74.3 |
| Width Metric: | 61.6 |
| Metric Unit: | cm |
| Imperial Unit: | in |
| Museum: | National Portrait Gallery |
| City: | London |
Portrait of Lord Castlereagh is an 1809 portrait by the English artist Thomas Lawrence of the Irish politician Lord Castlereagh, then serving as the British Secretary of War.[1] Lawrence had developed a reputation as a leading artist of society portraits, and was on friendly terms with the politician.
The portrait was displayed at the Royal Academy summer exhibition of 1810 along with three other Lawrence works. Despite receiving praise from many quarters, Castlereagh's painting received a damning critique by Peter Finnerty, an opponent of the Irishman, in the Morning Chronicle.[2]
The same year that the work was painted, Castlereagh oversaw the failed Walcheren Expedition during the Napoleonic Wars. In the wake of this, he resigned and fought a duel with his cabinet colleague George Canning.[3] After three years out of government, he returned as Foreign Secretary in 1812 and served for a decade, participating in the defeat of Napoleon and the creation of the post-war Congress System. Another painting of him by Lawrence was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1814.[4]
Today the painting is on display in the National Portrait Gallery in London, having been purchased for the collection in 1892.[5]