Portrait of Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, (1833-1913), Commander in Chief of the British Army

Francis Montague Holl's portrait of Field Marshal Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley (1886), depicts the most celebrated British military commander of the Victorian era. Wolseley had directed the Red River Expedition, the Ashanti War, and the Egypt campaign of 1882 with conspicuous success, becoming the model for Gilbert and Sullivan's 'very model of a modern Major-General.' Holl was the leading British portraitist of his generation, and this commission was among the most prestigious of his career. The portrait is in the National Gallery of Ireland, and Holl died the following year at only forty-three, making this among his final major works.

The portrait employs the sober authority of Victorian state portraiture, with Wolseley in full uniform. Holl uses a dark background and controlled lighting to focus attention on the Field Marshal's face and decorations. The paint is applied with technical assurance, giving particular attention to the rendering of the uniform's details and the sitter's strong features.