Lt.-Gen. Charles Vernon

This well-documented and colourful profile depicts Charles Vernon, Lieutenant of the Tower of London, a position he held for 47 years from 1763.

The first known record of this silhouette places it in the collection of Francis Wellesley, a well-respected antiquarian whose collection of silhouettes ran to around 1,500 works. Many of these, including very possibly this profile, had been acquired from Montague Guest, an earlier respected silhouette enthusiast whose collection was sold 1910. Whilst in the Wellesley Collection, this profile was ascribed to the hand of Thomas Rowlandson, best known for his political caricatures. Why and when this attribution came about is unclear as there are no other known silhouettes associated with Rowlandson. It has though continued to be documented as by Rowlandson and was sold by Christie’s auction house as such in 1917. At that point it was purchased by the eminent collector, Sir Henry Sutcliffe-Smith.

But if not by Thomas Rowlandson, bearing in mind the credibility of those earlier collectors who believed in that attribution where- and however it originated, then by who given that it differs in style from the work of Buncombe who specialised in similarly coloured profiles of military figures? Bear in mind too that it pre-dates the rash of faked Buncombe profiles that emerged on the market during the 1940s.

Painted on card in black and colour (without gum arabic), the silhouette has regrettably faded (or been over-cleaned) since it was illustrated in British Profile Miniaturists (1970). The plume on the hat was previously blue whilst the coat revers and braiding were previously edged in yellow. There is also a small area of restoration just below the sitter’s nose. The silhouette remains in its original pressed brass frame (with a replaced hanger), the reverse with labels confirming its provenance.

Born in Suffolk in 1719, Charles was the fourth son of Sir James Vernon MP and his wife the Hon. Lady Arethusa Boyle, a direct descendant of Henry VII. Sir James was appointed Ambassador to Copenhagen, a position he resigned from just a few days before his death in 1756 in lieu of an annual pension of £300 to be awarded to his son Charles, a benefit he was to draw on for over fifty years in addition to his own salary.

Aged 18, Charles Vernon pursued a career in the military, initially as an ensign with the 2nd Regiment of Foot Guards and later as aide-de-camp to King George III who appointed him Lieutenant of the Tower of London, a position for life, in 1763. Vernon attained the rank of General by 1783 and also served as MP for Tamworth for six years from 1768. He died, unmarried and having well outlived all his siblings, on 3 August 1810 in his 92nd year, being ‘universally lamented’.