Regimental Pride

This portrait of an unnamed officer has traditionally been attributed to the hand of the rarely seen artist Edward Pugh. Wearing a blue coat with red facings, a fleur-de-lys embossed cross belt, and a silver epaulette, the officer has a sun-kissed complexion that suggests has recently been stationed overseas.

In fine condition, it resides in the original gold-plated frame, the reverse glazed to show thickly plaited brown hair.

A Welshman, Edward Pugh worked mostly in London and briefly in Chester. He exhibited miniatures at the Royal Academy between 1793 and 1808. He enlisted in an artists’ volunteer corps in 1803. He also worked as a book illustrator mostly painting Welsh landscapes. He died in 1813, aged 52.