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Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton

October 11, 1782
Not on view
This full-length portrait represents the British cavalry hero "Bloody Tarleton," shown during the American War of Independence. Wearing the uniform of his troop, Tarleton's Green Horse, the subject draws his sword while bracing one foot against a canon, as a groom restrains horses before billlowing smoke. After returning to England early in 1782, Tarleton sat to Reynolds for the work acclaimed at the Royal Academy later in the year. Smith's freely executed mezzotint conveys the energy of the painting.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton
  • Engraver: John Raphael Smith (British, baptized Derby 1751–1812 Doncaster)
  • Artist: After Sir Joshua Reynolds (British, Plympton 1723–1792 London)
  • Publisher: John Raphael Smith (British, baptized Derby 1751–1812 Doncaster)
  • Sitter: Sir Banastre Tarleton (British, Liverpool 1754–1833 Leintwardine, Herefordshire)
  • Date: October 11, 1782
  • Medium: Mezzotint, hand-colored
  • Dimensions: Plate: 25 1/4 × 15 1/2 in. (64.1 × 39.3 cm)
    Sheet: 26 in. × 17 1/2 in. (66 × 44.5 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Frederick Townsend Martin, 1914
  • Object Number: 14.1.52
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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