Benjamin Rouse Jr.
Sir Thomas Lawrence British
Sitter Benjamin Rouse Jr. British
Not on view
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.