Sir Thomas Lawrence P.R.A. 1769-1830

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STRUCTURE The canvas has been lined. PAINT SURFACE The paint surface appears to be in good condition. There are no apparent repairs or damages. ULTRAVIOLET Ultraviolet light does not reveal any repair or damage to the canvas or paint surface. FRAME Held in an ornate plaster gilt frame.
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The sitter was the eldest son and heir of John, 1^st Marquess of Bute (1744-1814) and Charlotte Jane (1746-1800) daughter of Herbert Hickman Windsor, 2nd Viscount Windsor and Baron Mountjoy. It was from this marriage that the Mountstuart family inherited the vastly valuable Windsor estates in Glamorgan. Mountstuart married in 1792, Lady Elizabeth Penelope Crichton (1767-1797) daughter and heiress of Patrick, 6th Earl of Dumfries. Mountstuart was M.P. for the Cardiff Boroughs from 1790 to 1794, appointed Colonel of the Glamorgan militia in 1791 and appointed Lord Lieutenant of Glamorganshire in 1793. He predeceased his father after falling from his horse while hunting, and was succeeded by his younger brother John Stuart. His father the 1st Marquess was Ambassador to Spain in 1783, and in 1795-1796.

This painting is a preliminary study for the full length portrait (Private Collection, see K. Garlick, Sir Thomas Lawrence; A complete Catalogue of the oil paintings, 1989, p. 241, no.582, pl. 16) exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1795, no. 86. In Spain, John Lord Mountstuart spent a great deal of time with his father and travelled widely. This accounts for his appearance in Spanish costume in both portraits.