William Ward Jnr. after Sir Joshua Reynolds

The Right Honourable Frederick Howard, Earl of Carlisle K. T. &c &c &c

16 x 26.5 inches

A full-length mezzotint portrait of the young Earl of Carlisle engraved by Ward after Reynolds and published in London in 1823.

Reynolds originally painted this stunning portrait in 1769 when Frederick Howard was 21 years of age. He is shown wearing the robes of the Order of the Thistle which he was awarded in 1768 and the majestic architectural backdrop suggests the setting of Castle Howard in Yorkshire. Frederick was the 5th Earl of Carlisle born to Henry, the 4th Earl, and his wife Caroline. He was educated at Eton where he became a close associate of the influential Whig politician and statesman, Charles Fox. In 1770, soon after this portrait was completed, he married Lady Margaret Leveson. Along with so many of his aristocratic contemporaries he had a severe gambling habit in his youth but managed to overcome this as he matured and went on to become an avid art collector, poet and writer. There is evidence of much correspondence between the Earl and Joshua Reynolds and in 1792 he acted as one of the pall bearers at the artist's funeral.