One of the most famous portraits of the Duke of Wellington is to be exhibited for free at Christie’s in London, offering the public a rare opportunity to see the celebrated painting before it goes under the hammer.
Free exhibition at Christie’s
The portrait, painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence, will be on display at Christie’s headquarters on King Street in St James’s from Friday 26 June to Tuesday 30 June. Although the exhibition is officially intended for potential buyers, auction houses regularly hold such free public showings, and anyone is welcome to attend. The painting will be the highlight of Christie’s Old Masters Evening Sale on 30 June, part of the auction house’s “Classic Week” in London.
Christie’s flagship saleroom has stood on King Street since 1823, making it one of the oldest continuously operating auction venues in the city. The building was destroyed by incendiary bombs in 1941 and was repaired in 1953. The location is a short walk from Piccadilly Circus or Trafalgar Square.
The portrait’s history
This particular portrait of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, was begun in 1820 and first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1822 to great acclaim. It was commissioned by Wellington’s close friends Charles and Harriet Arbuthnot, whom Lawrence had met in Paris in 1814. The Duke himself considered it “one of the best if not the best” portrait Lawrence ever painted. So highly did he regard the image that he chose it to gift as a mezzotint by the prominent engraver Samuel Cousins to his friends and admirers, establishing it as one of the best‑known depictions of the Duke.
The painting comes from the collection of the late Sir Robert Ogden, a visionary British businessman and philanthropist. It was previously exhibited as part of the “Thomas Lawrence, Regency Power and Brilliance” exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London in 2010–11.
How Lawrence captured Wellington’s celebrity and humanity
Lawrence, who was the exact contemporary of Wellington (both were born in 1769), first painted the Duke in the summer of 1814, in the wake of his victorious Peninsular Campaign against Napoleon’s armies in Portugal and Spain. The challenge for the artist was how to capture both the celebrity and the humanity of the greatest military hero of the day — a man feted as Europe’s military saviour. Over the next 15 years, Lawrence executed eight portraits of Wellington, and it is these paintings, more than those of any other artist, that have defined the Duke’s image for posterity.
Lawrence himself was a child prodigy and largely self‑taught, rising to become President of the Royal Academy in 1820. His polished and flattering style, marked by romantic sensibility, dramatic lighting and fluid brushwork, made him the leading British portrait painter of the early 19th century. In this portrait of Wellington, critics have noted that Lawrence succeeded in penetrating the Duke’s “aura of heroism” through an intimacy and simplicity of conception that reveals the “essence of the man.” The painting is described as capturing the private character beneath the public icon — a man who had defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815, served as Prime Minister from 1828 to 1830, and commanded armies across India and Europe, yet who also valued the close companionship of intelligent women and, in the case of the Arbuthnots, cherished a small circle of trusted friends.
The mezzotint by Samuel Cousins, disseminated widely by Wellington himself, ensured that this particular portrait became the definitive visual representation of the Duke. Lawrence’s eight portraits collectively established a visual legacy, but it was this painting — intimate, direct, and praised by its subject — that sealed his reputation as a portraitist capable of merging grandeur with human warmth.
Viewing and auction details
The painting will be on display at Christie’s, 8 King Street, St James’s, London SW1Y 6QT, on the following days and times:
Friday 26 June: 9am–5pm
Saturday 27 June: 12pm–5pm
Sunday 28 June: 12pm–5pm
Monday 29 June: 9am–5pm
Tuesday 30 June: 9am–2pm
Admission is free. The auction of the portrait, estimated at £8,000,000–12,000,000, will take place later on Tuesday 30 June as part of Christie’s Old Masters Evening Sale.
