Benjamin Rouse, Junior

Sir Thomas Lawrence|Benjamin Rouse Junior

1813 (?) · Graphite, black and red chalk · Drawings and Prints

In 1814 Benjamin Rouse Jr. succeeded his father as secretary, or chief clerk, of the Hand-in-Hand Fire & Life Insurance Society. In the previous year, the society’s board of directors had resolved that Rouse Sr. should be painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence and it seems likely that this drawing of the son and future manager was made at the same time. By this date Lawrence was established as a highly successful and imaginative portraitist of leading members of British society, and this drawing encapsulates his confident, mature handling of chalks.

Artist

Sir Thomas Lawrence|Benjamin Rouse Junior

Date

1813 (?)

Medium

Graphite, black and red chalk

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Purchase, Brooke Russell Astor Bequest, 2013