William IV (1765-1837) when Duke of Clarence

Lawrence was the most fashionable and also the greatest portraitist of his generation. He was made Principal Painter to George III in 1792 after Reynolds’s death, and received occasional commissions; however it was only after 1814 that George IV began to employ him in earnest. This portrait was painted in 1827 for the Duke of Clarence at a cost of 600 guineas; it was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1829 and remained with the artist until his death in 1830. the Duke wears a dark buttoned-up tail coat with the star of the Garter; in his right hand he holds a paper, in his left hand a glove. This portrait was placed in its present position on the Grand Staircase at Buckingham Palace by Queen Victoria in 1846.