Charles Stewart, Sixth Marquess of Londonderry, Carrying the Great Sword of State at the Coronation of King Edward VII, August, 1902, and Mr. W. C. Beaumont, His Page on That Occasion

Although Sargent had declined a commission to paint the coronation of Edward VII in 1902, he captured its pageantry in this image of Lord Londonderry and his nephew. The artist recreated the event's solemn magnificence by making watercolor sketches of Westminster Abbey, where the coronation had taken place, and posing Lord Londonderry in the full regalia he had worn, holding the Great Sword of State. In full-length portraits such as this, Sargent sought to become heir to a long tradition of Grand Manner portraiture, aligning himself with such renowned masters as Anthony van Dyck and Thomas Lawrence, both admired for their depictions of British nobility. Sargent's painting would have been compared directly; the Londonderry family owned at least three portraits by Lawrence.