Last week Howard Morgan, the portrait artist who has painted everyone from the Queen down, marked the anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo in oils. He unveiled a sweeping canvas of the battle, commissioned by Arthur Wellesley, son of the current Duke of Wellington. But he has a much less likely connection to the family. The Londoner was at Morgan’s studio over the weekend and found our eyes drawn to a nude portrait of a young blonde. It turns out that Arthur is not the only Wellesley to ask Morgan to paint. The nude is of the Duke’s daughter, society girl-turned academic Lady Mary Wellesley. Now studying for a PhD in medieval history, she was 18 at the time of sitting. “She asked in front...
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