Overall: 47cm (18.5in) x 51cm (20in)
Oil on panel. Arms and honours of Arthur, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG. Framed.
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, was born near Trim, Ireland, and first gained distinction at the storming of Seringapatam (1799). He afterwards defeated the Mahrattas at Assaye (1804), for which he was knighted. The campaigns of the Peninsular War (1808-14) were successfully conducted by him, and at Waterloo (1815) he defeated Napoleon himself, for which victory he was rewarded with the estate of Strathfieldsaye, and an annual pension of £4,000. Subsequently he became Premier (1828) and passed the Roman Catholic Relief Bill in 1829, but his opposition to the Reform Bill of 1832 made him unpopular for a time. He died in 1852 and was buried in St. Pauls Cathedral.