Watts completed this portrait of the Duke of Cleveland and exhibited it at the Royal Academy in 1873 (No.214).

He must have considered it a fine example of his work as he borrowed it again for the Exposition Universelle, Paris in 1878 and for his one-man retrospective show at the Grosvenor Gallery during the winter of 1881-2.

Harry George Vane was born in 1803, the third son of William Vane, 3rd Earl of Darlington. He entered the House of Commons in 1841 as member for South Durham and remained its MP until 1859. From that date, until he succeeded his brother as Duke of Cleveland in 1864, he was MP for Hastings.

Harry George Vane was installed Knight of the Garter in 1865 and is depicted in this portrait wearing the sash and star of the order. Lady St Helier described the Duke as:

A fine specimen of an English aristocrat and as he got older I think his picturesqueness increased. In the evening, when he wore the Ribbon of the Garter, standing up with his tall, erect figure, piercing eyes and snow-white hair, he was always a very striking personage.

Object description
Type: Easel painting
Location: Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham
Material: Oil on canvas
Artist: George Frederic Watts (1817-1904)
Date: 1873

Image Details
Date: 12 May 2024
Camera body: iPhone Xs
Lens: Telephoto Camera 52mm ƒ/2.4
Focal Length: 52mm
Aperture: ƒ/2.4
Shutter Speed: 1/50s
ISO: 500
Licensing: Image of a Bowes Museum asset. This image cannot be licensed.