But it
is recorded that thenceforth Lawrence's commissions from fair sitters
multiplied.
Sir Thomas was a finished flatterer. No man ever knew better, except
it was Lely, how to pay the compliment of the brush. This form is the
substantial, the lasting compliment for which golden guineas are
gladly paid. Grace and elegance are the hall-mark of his every
picture. But the artist was a courtier in speech and manners as well,
and this got him into trouble once. He was attentive to the ill-used
Princess Caroline,--markedly attentive! A royal commission inquired
into his conduct, but absolved him from the charges of wrongdoing.
When Lady Grosvenor, who had become Marchioness of Westminster, was an
old lady, in 1881, she wrote in a letter to Lord Leveson Gower her
recollections of the painter: "His manners were what is called
extremely 'polished' (not the fault of the present times). He wore a
large cravat, and had a tinge about him of the time of George IV.,
pervading his general demeanor.... I should not say he was amusing,
but what struck me most, during my two hours sitting in Russell
Square, was the perfection of the drawing of his portraits. Before any
color was put on, the drawing itself was so perfectly beautiful that
it seemed almost a sin to add any color." This portrait of her, which
was painted at this one sitting, is considered the very best Lawrence
ever painted.
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