Sir John Soane

Sir John Soane (1753-1837), Architect.

By 1828, the year in which this portrait was painted, Sir John Soane, the hard-working and brilliant architect of the Bank of England, had grown melancholy as well as rich. His portrait was commissioned by the Governors of the British Institution and was described as 'The Portrait of John Soane, R.A., Painted by order of the Directors of the British Institution, as one of its most liberal Benefactors.' It shows Soane as an old man, slightly quizzical, watery-eyed and thin-lipped; but he was justifiably proud of his achievements and there is a copy of his Lectures on Architecture delivered at the Royal Academy open on the table in front of him.