The sitter was born in 1768 as the illegitimate son of the Irish aristocrat
George Beresford, 1st Marquess of Waterford and therefore had links to many of the
Anglo-Irish elite. Entering the
British Army he became known for his service during the
Napoleonic Wars. He was involved in the
Egyptian Campaign and the failed
expedition to Buenos Aires. He distinguished himself in the
Peninsular War and was made
Marshal of the
Portuguese Army, serving under the
Duke of Wellington. In 1814 he was made
Viscount Beresford. Along with
Thomas Lawrence and
Martin Archer Shee, Beechey had emerged as one of Britain's leading portrait painters following the death of the
President of the Royal Academy Joshua Reynolds. He increasingly adapted his style to suit the fashion of the
Regency era, dominated by Lawrence. Beresford sat for Beechey not long after the
Treaty of Paris drove Napoleon into exile on
Elba. Beresford is shown in the uniform of a
Marshal of Portugal and wears the decorations of
Peninsular Gold Cross as well as the British
Order of the Bath and the Portuguese
Order of the Tower and Sword. Today the painting is in the collection of the
National Portrait Gallery on
Trafalgar Square. A
mezzotint print by
Charles Turner based on Beechey's work is also in the Gallery's collection. ==References==