King George IV Prince Regent Circle Of Sir Thomas Lawrence Large Oval 19thc Oil Paintings & Royal Portraits

Description

KING GEORGE IV
This impressive huge oval portrait of George the Prince Regent is an early 19th century example of Sir Thomas Lawrence’s 1814 painting, which is currently held in the National Portrait Gallery.
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Sir Thomas Lawrence PRA FRS was a leading English portrait painter of the Georgian period and the fourth president of the Royal Academy.
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George served as the Prince Regent from 1811 during his father’s (George III) final mental illness.
This time is now famous as the ‘Regency Period’. George led an extravagant and stylish lifestyle and was the patron of new forms of art, taste, architecture and leisure.
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His cultured manner and charm earned him the title of ‘the first gentleman of England”.
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ABOUT King George IV
George IV was 48 when he became Regent in 1811, as a result of the illness of his father, George III. He succeeded to the throne in January 1820.
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He had secretly and illegally married a Roman Catholic, Mrs Fitzherber, in 1785. In 1795 he officially married Princess Caroline of Brunswick, but the marriage was a failure and he tried unsuccessfully to divorce her after his accession in 1820 (Caroline died in 1821). Their only child Princess Charlotte died giving birth to a stillborn child, in 1817, aged 21.
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An outstanding, if extravagant, collector and builder, George IV acquired many important works of art (now in the Royal Collection), built the Royal Pavilion at Brighton, and transformed Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. George's fondness for pageantry helped to develop the ceremonial side of monarchy.
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After his father's long illness, George resumed royal visits he visited Ireland and Hanover in 1821 and Scotland in 1822, which had not been visited by the monarch since Charles II's Scottish Coronation in 1651.
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Beset by debts, George was in a weak position in relation to his Cabinet of ministers. His concern for royal prerogative was sporadic when the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool fell ill in 1827, George at one stage suggested that ministers should choose Liverpool's successor.
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In 1829, George IV was forced by his ministers, much against his will and his interpretation of his coronation oath, to agree to Catholic Emancipation. By reducing religious discrimination, this emancipation enabled the monarchy to play a more national role.
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George's profligacy and marriage difficulties meant that he never regained much popularity, and he spent his final years in seclusion at Windsor, dying at the age of 67. His only daughter having died childless, the throne passed to his next brother, William, Duke of Clarence, as William IV.
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ABOUT THE ARTIST
SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE P.R.A. (13th April 1769-7th January 1830) was a child prodigy. He was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was an innkeeper.
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At the age of ten, having moved to Bath, he was supporting his family with his pastel portraits. At eighteen he went to London and soon established his reputation as a portrait painter in oils, receiving his first royal commission, a portrait of Queen Charlotte, in 1790.
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Self-taught, he was a brilliant draughtsman and known for his gift of capturing a likeness, as well as his virtuoso handling of paint. He became an associate of the Royal Academy in 1791, a full member in 1794, and the fourth president of the RA in 1820.
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In 1810 he acquired the patronage of the Prince Regent, was sent abroad to paint portraits of allied leaders for the Waterloo chamber at Windsor Castle, and is particularly remembered as the Romantic portraitist of the Regency.
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Lawrence was most fashionable portrait painter in Europe up until death aged 60, in 1830.
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CONDITION :Very Good for age, canvas relined ,cleaned / frame minor old repairs
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FRAME : 4 inch Original Heavy plaster moulded.
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FRAMED MEASUREMENTS: Height 41.3 Inches ( 105 cm ) Width. 34.6 Inches ( 88 cm )
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DELIVERY: UK Delivery ( Large Item ) £80 ( Man & Van ) Europe £180 / USA & Asia £280
Payments Accepted By Bank Transfer & Debit / Credit Cards
PAY-PAL Or CHEQUES Drawn From Uk Accounts
Internal Ref: CLC/040

Dimensions

Height = 108 cm (43")
Width = 88 cm (35")
Depth = 5 cm (2")