Sir John Campbell (1779–1861), MP for Dudley (1832–1834)

Sir John Campbell, later 1st Baron Campbell and Lord Chancellor, was MP for Dudley from 1832 to 1834 when Hayter sketched him for the House of Commons picture. Campbell went on to become one of Victorian Britain’s most important legal figures, authoring the landmark Lives of the Lord Chancellors. This study in the Dudley Museums Service preserves his appearance during his brief parliamentary career. George Hayter was the preeminent British history and portrait painter of the early Victorian era, appointed Principal Painter in Ordinary to Queen Victoria in 1841.

Hayter captures the Scottish lawyer’s alert, intelligent expression with swift, characterful brushwork. The study’s informality contrasts with the formal gravity Campbell would later acquire as Lord Chancellor.