Richard Colley Wellesley, Marquess of Wellesley (1760-1842)

Lawrence painted Richard Wellesley, Marquess Wellesley, around 1812, depicting the elder brother of the Duke of Wellington who had served as Governor-General of India (1798-1805). Wellesley had dramatically expanded British territory in India, defeating Tipu Sultan and the Maratha Confederacy, but his imperious manner and vast expenditure led to his recall. Lawrence's portrait captures the aristocratic hauteur and intellectual brilliance that contemporaries noted alongside a coldness that alienated colleagues. Now in the Royal Collection, the painting documents one of the principal architects of British India during a period of aggressive imperial expansion.

Lawrence presents the Marquess with aristocratic grandeur appropriate to one of the most powerful British proconsuls. The warm palette and authoritative composition convey the confident bearing of a man accustomed to supreme authority.