Frederick William John Hervey 2nd Marquess of Bristol, PC, FSA, MP (1800-1864)

Frederick Hervey, 2nd Marquess of Bristol, was a Tory politician who served as MP for Bury St Edmunds before inheriting the marquisate. Hayter painted him in 1833, the year the reformed Parliament first assembled, and the National Trust now holds the portrait. The Hervey family, based at Ickworth House in Suffolk, had been prominent in English politics since the eighteenth century, when the eccentric Earl-Bishop had made the family name famous across Europe.

Hayter presents the young Marquess with the polished refinement appropriate to his rank, the painting’s smooth execution and careful attention to dress details marking it as a finished portrait rather than a preparatory sketch.