Richard Earlom after Sir Joshua Reynolds

George Augustus Eliott, Lord Heathfield of Gibraltar

15 x 20.5 inches

A three-quarter length portrait, stipple engraved by Earlom after Reynolds; published in London in 1788.

Eliott was appointed as Governor of Gibraltar in 1777 and promoted to General a year later. His defence of the Rock during the Siege of Gibraltar (1779-83) is one of the most heroic and famous of all military engagements. The British Garrison fought off the combined forces of the French and Spanish for four years, during which time he joined his soldiers in surviving on a diet of water, vegetables and biscuits. The climax of the siege came in 1782 with the defeat of 'The Grand Assault', an attack involving 100,000 men, 48 ships and 450 cannons.

Aside from his military prowess, Eliott was a remarkable man who rarely slept for more than four hours a night. It is little wonder that he was celebrated in many a portrait and print.