Sir George Anson (1797–1857)

Sir George Anson by William Beechey depicts a British military figure during the period when Beechey served as portrait painter to King George III. Beechey was one of the leading portraitists of the late Georgian era, rivaling Thomas Lawrence in royal and aristocratic commissions. 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 military portrait combines formal dignity with naturalistic characterization, the subject's uniform and decorations rendered with precise attention to detail.