After Sir Francis Grant, R.A. (1805-1878), 1850. Size: 43 1/4 wide by 56 inches. Accession O0059. A similar painting is in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Ambitious, enormously industrious, supremely confident, public-spirited to his own advantage; a significant legislator and a sound lawyer and judge. In 1850 he became chief justice of the Queen's Bench (as shown in this painting), settling many principles. Nine years later he was appointed lord chancellor. As an equity judge he was competent though undistinguished. His famous writings are The Lives of the Lord Chancellors (1845-1847) and The Lives of the Chief Justices (1849, supplemented 1857). Rich in material, lively, and readable, they sold well and enhanced their author's desire for literary fame. But due to a strong personality and journalistic background he was unable to keep his books free from bias and scholarly shortcomings.