Lot 86: THOMAS HEAPHY 1775-1835 PORTRAIT OF HENRY TEMPLE, 3RD VISCOUNT PALMERSTON (1784-1865)

signed l.c.: THeaphy1802

watercolour over pencil on two sheets joined, unframed

CATALOGUE NOTE

Thomas Heaphy drew several portraits of Lord Palmerston of which this and another, also dated 1802, in the National Portrait Gallery (NPG 751), are the earliest. These two portrait drawings show him as a young man of eighteen, shortly after the death of his father, and were commissioned for presentation to his guardian, Lord Pelham.

Lord Palmerston was one of the greatest Victorian statesmen and one of the most powerful figures in European politics. He was elected a Member of Parliament in 1807 and soon became an advocate of Catholic emancipation and Parliamentary reform. He was successively Secretary at War between 1809-1828, Foreign Secretary between 1830-1841 and1846-1851, Home Secretary between 1853 and 1855 and Prime Minister between 1855-1858 and 1859-1865.

27 by 22.5 cm., 10 1/2 by 9 in.