Portrait of Charles, 1st Marquess Cornwallis KG (1738-1805) (Samuel Andrews after John Smart), after 1792

Samuel andrews portrait of charles, 1st marquess cornwallis kg (1738-1805), after john smart watercolour on ivory, gold frame, blue glazed reverse 62 by 49 mm the sitter was an important figure in the mid-georgian era. After eton and cambridge, he served as a solider, where he rose to the rank of general. He played a major role in the american war of independence and it was his surrender to george washington at yorktown on the 19 october 1781, that effectively ended the conflict. He was also a leading politician and diplomat. He held office as the master general of the ordinance within william pitt’s cabinet, he served as lord lieutenant of ireland and, in 1801, he negotiated a brief peace with france, when he met napoleon at amiens. Amongst his greatest achievements was his appointment as the first governor-general of india in 1786. He held that office three times and is remembered for his hard-line attitude to the corruption that plagued the east india company and his defeat of the mighty tiger of mysore, tipu sultan. The present miniature is very likely to have been painted by the irish artist samuel andrews. It is a copy after john smart’s 1792 portrait of the marquess. 1 andrews travelled to india in 1791 and he had settled in madras by the end of that year. He was to remain in india for the rest of this life and, while there, he adopted a highly detailed miniature technique, which is comparable to john smart’s style. The two artists certainly knew each other and when smart decided to return to britain, in 1795, andrews moved into his madras house. 1. M. Archer, india and british portraiture 1770-1825, oxford 1979, p. 392, no. 294. Date: after 1792.