A historic portrait of the Duke of Wellington has fetched a record-breaking sum at auction in London, selling for more than £9.6 million. The artwork, depicting Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington, was painted by Thomas Lawrence following Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The Duke was given his title after playing a key role in the defeat, which ended the Napoleonic Wars.
Personal Favorite and Historical Significance
The piece was a personal favourite of the Duke, who went on to serve two terms as prime minister after his active military career ended, and he distributed numerous prints of it to his acquaintances. The portrait ultimately sold for £9.67 million at Christie's, setting a new record for works by Lawrence. It had been anticipated to reach between £8 million and £12 million.
Maja Markovic, head of the Old Masters Evening Sale, which initiated the auction house’s Classic Week, highlighted the portrait's “storied provenance and historical importance”. Christie’s description of the painting reads: “This is an outstanding example of Lawrence's work that helped secure his reputation, and has enthralled subsequent generations of artists and collectors. “Begun in 1820, the year that Lawrence was elected President of the Royal Academy where the picture was later exhibited to great acclaim in 1822, the artist succeeded in penetrating Wellington's aura of heroism and masterfully capturing the essence of the man.”
Strong Auction Results
The evening’s combined sales surpassed £50.7 million. Among other items were an Egyptian limestone statue which sold for £3.7 million and a Peter Paul Rubens sketch of Aeneas helping Dido from her horse (£2.7 million). Also up for auction were two works by Jan van Huysum: Fruit and flowers in a wicker basket (£6.5 million) and Flowers in a terracotta vase (£5.5 million).
A first edition of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, together with a copy of Agnes Grey by her sister Anne Bronte, was sold for £1.2 million as part of a Masterworks Across Cultures auction. A cigar humidor given to Winston Churchill by former US president Franklin D Roosevelt was sold for £330,200 – eight times the highest pre-sale estimate.
