Montagu William Lowry-Corry, Baron Rowton (1838-1903)

This 1877 portrait by Heinrich von Angeli of Montagu William Lowry-Corry, Baron Rowton, captures one of the most personally significant figures in Benjamin Disraeli's life. Lowry-Corry was Disraeli's devoted private secretary and closest companion in his final years, inheriting his estate and devoting himself to charitable work thereafter — the Rowton Houses for working men's lodging perpetuate his name. Von Angeli's portrait, held at Hughenden Manor (Disraeli's home, now a National Trust property), situates this intimate portrait of a loyal aide within the world of Victorian Conservative politics at its Victorian apex.

Von Angeli brings his characteristic direct, fluid portraiture to this unofficial commission, rendering Lowry-Corry with warmth and a degree of informality appropriate to a personal rather than dynastic portrait.