Portrait of General James Wolfe

J S C Schaak (active 1760 - 1770)

National Army Museum

circa 1760

This portrait of General Wolfe commemorates Britain's most celebrated military hero of the eighteenth century and one of its pivotal events. Wolfe's daring victory over the French at the Battle of Quebec on 13 September 1759 united Canada and the 13 American colonies under the British crown. Death at the moment of victory earned him a reputation as a patriotic martyr that was unmatched by any British hero until Nelson. This is the first contemporary portrait of Wolfe in the National Army Museum.

• Medium: oil on canvas
• Dimensions: 35 x 30cm
• Art Fund Grant: £15000 ( Total: £308,750; Export stopped)
• ArtFunded in: 2008
• Vendor: Philip Mould

Provenance

Lieutenant Colonel Henry Fletcher (1724-1803) who served under Wolfe at Louisbourg and Quebec; by descent; Sotheby's, 1966; Peter Winkworth; Sotheby's, 2007; Philip Mould.

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