Richard Fenton (1747–1821)

Another portrait of Richard Fenton, this version at the National Museum Cardiff, depicts the Welsh antiquary whose writings on Pembrokeshire preserved important knowledge of Welsh history. Fenton's dual career in law and scholarship made him a significant figure in Welsh cultural life. Beechey, knighted in 1798 and portrait painter to Queen Charlotte, executed the work with his characteristic solid, dependable oil technique that documented Georgian society's ruling classes with honest directness

The portrait presents the scholar-antiquary with the composed dignity appropriate to his professional standing, rendered with Beechey's warm naturalism.