Admiral Sir Sidney Smith, in 1823 (watercolor, gouache, ivory, copper)

Admiral Sir Sidney Smith Autissier, Louis-Marie Sir William Sidney Smith (Westminster, 1764 - Paris, 1840), who joined the Royal Navy in 1777, was taken prisoner in 1795 and spent two years in the Temple after being commissioned by Admiral Hood to set fire to the French fleet in Toulon harbor. He led the defense of Saint-Jean-d'Acre against the French, forcing Bonaparte to withdraw (1799). Although he fought many battles against French forces, he was always a Francophile, and moved to Paris with his wife after the fall of the Empire. Admiral in 1821, he spent the rest of his life involved in philanthropy and freemasonry. He founded the Order of the Knights Liberators and was very active in that of the Knights Templar, a resurgence reported as early as 1805.Sidney Smith is shown here with all his military and civil decorations:- the red saltire of the Order of the Turkish Crescent- the blue-edged yellow cordon of Knight Commander and Grand Cross of the Swedish Order of the Sword, with its plaque (topmost)- the pink-edged blue cordon and plaque (leftmost) of the Order of St. Ferdinand of Sicily- barely visible, the blue cordon of the Portuguese Order of the Tower and Sword, with its plaque (rightmost)- partly concealed by the blue-edged yellow cordon, the plaque with the radiance of Knight Commander of the English Order of the Bath- at the neck, in the commandery, the cross of the Temple Signature - Signed on the left: "Autissier pt / Paris 182 [last digit illegible]". Date - Dated on the left: "Autissier pt / Paris 182[last number illegible]". [the date is truncated by a chip in the gouache on the last two digits]. Inscription concerning the model - On the back, inscription in black ink: "amiral / Sir William / Sydney-Smith." Inscription concerning the model - On the back, pencil inscription: "S. William..." [the rest illegible] Number - On the back, number printed in blue on a label: "1003". Bequest number - On the back, in red: "D 28". Inventory number: J702