Captain Benjamin Sydenham (1777-1828), c.1810

A half-length portrait, the body slightly turned to the left, the face looking at the spectator. Sydenham wears a black coat, cream waistcoat and white stock. A red curtain is draped behind him and in the distance is a landscape. He served in the Madras Engineers 1796-1808, returning to England on leave in 1801 with his mother after the death of his father. He was a protégé of Sir Arthur Wellesley and went back to England with him in 1808. He became involved in politics and was sent on a mission to Wellesley in Spain in 1809. He held the post of Commissioner of Excise, England and Wales 1809-15. He led a gay social life and had an affair with Harriette Wilson's sister Amy. It is said that when visited in Venice by his uncle General Robert Bell in 1820, he wore a mask to hide his ravaged features. ' Illustrator: Anon c. 1810 Source/Shelfmark: Foster 627 Oil painting. 30 by 25 ins (76 by 64 cms)