Admiral Henry John Chetwynd, 1803-68, 18th Earl of Shrewsbury RMG L9356

Admiral Henry John Chetwynd, 1803-68, 18th Earl of Shrewsbury
A head and shoulders, facing to the right in profile, wearing a brown coat against a pastoral background. Watts has achieved a portrait that is both intimate and melancholy, reflecting the sitter’s retreat from public life. No longer a serving officer he is shown as a private man in a distinctly brooding landscape.
Chetwynd entered the navy in 1817 and fought at the Battle of Navarino in 1827, for which he received the CB and other decorations. He was promoted to captain and later naval ADC to Queen Victoria.
This portrait was painted in about 1865 and is a more finished version of the one in the Watts Gallery at Compton, near Guildford. Watts (1817-1904) was both a painter and sculptor, portraiture in both being only one of his subject areas. He was elected RA in 1867 and by the 1870s was one of the most eminent artists of his time. He twice declined Queen Victoria's offer of a baronetcy but was one of the first members of the Order of Merit when it was instituted by Edward VII in 1902. Watts presented 35 of his works to the nation.

Oil final George Frederic Watts