Portrait of a Gentleman Officer in Uniform Signed and Dated 1796 by Thomas Beach (1738-1806), Oil on Canvas Painting

This exquisite portrait bears testimony to the artist’s ability to convey not just a likeness but also a sense of the character of the sitter. The officer wears an elaborate scarlet coat with a high standing collar worn over a white linen shirt with a sheer frill down the front - popular in the late 18th century. The fringed gold epaulettes worn on his shoulders, denoting his rank, which is probably that of lieutenant colonel in the British Army.

The uniform of the British Army, with its red scarlet and gold accoutrements set against a dark background are an apparently effortless harmonisation of tones, and they create a striking image. Rather than a wig, the sitter wears his own hair - a hair powder tax in 1795 effectively ended the fashion for wigs and powder.

The artist has signed and dated their work bottom left “TBeach 1796”. An old label on the reverse from

Thomas Beach (also called Thomas Beach of Bath) was a portrait painter, born in Milton-Abbas in 1738. He was a pupil of Sir Joshua Reynolds whilst at the same time studying at the St. Martin's Lane Academy in London. He relocated to the most fashionable resort of the fashion world, Bath, and there his skilled works were very much in demand and noted for being “very well drawn, and by no means devoid of merit.” There, he sent his paintings to the Exhibitions of the Society of Artists. He became a member of the Royal Academy in 1772 and exhibited there from 1785 until 1797 when he had by then settled in London. He produced many skilled works and as was much in demand – as evidenced by the fact that many of his portraits were engraved in mezzotint. He died in Dorchester on December 17, 1806.

Measurements: Height 91cm, Width 78cm framed (Height 35.75”, Width 30.75” framed)

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