'Prosperity' Frederick John Robinson

'Prosperity' Robinson — Frederick John Robinson, later Viscount Goderich — was painted by Lawrence in 1823 at the height of his reputation as Chancellor of the Exchequer whose optimistic economic forecasts had earned him the sardonic nickname. His budgets of the early 1820s predicted expanding prosperity at a moment when the post-Napoleonic depression was beginning to lift, and the nickname stuck even after the financial crisis of 1825-26 demonstrated that his optimism had been premature. Ripon Town Hall holds this portrait in the constituency city that Robinson represented in Parliament — Ripon was one of the smaller English constituencies, its parliamentary seat controlled by the local magnate families whose support Robinson cultivated throughout his career. Lawrence's portrait at 76.3 by 63.8 centimeters captures Robinson in the conventional three-quarter-length format appropriate for a Chancellor of the Exchequer who had not yet reached the distinction of a full-length: professionally dignified, socially assured, and carrying the easy confidence of a man who had not yet experienced the catastrophic failure of nerve that would make his brief premiership in 1827-28 one of the most undistinguished in British history.

Lawrence paints the Chancellor with polished competence, the cheerful features suggesting the optimism that earned Robinson his nickname. The warm palette and confident handling create a flattering but plausible likeness of a man whose affability was both his greatest charm and his political limitation.