Portraits of Byron

Byronic images have been widely disseminated, reproduced, researched, and discussed since before Byron's death in 1824. A superb and comprehensive overview of Lord Byron's portraits is Dangerous to Show: Byron and His Portraits, by Geoffrey Bond and Christine Kenyon Jones (London: Unicorn, 2020).

Lord Byron, a miniature painted by George Sanders in 1812. It may have been commissioned to celebrate Byron's great success with Childe Harold's Pilgrimage.

Lord Byron with his servant Robert Rushton, painted by George Sanders in 1807-1809. Held in the Royal Collection Trust.

Lord Byron, by Richard Westall, painted in 1813.

Lord Byron, by Thomas Phillips (1813).

Lord Byron in his Albanian Costume, 1813. The original portrait is by Thomas Phillips (1770-1845), and he also painted this copy in 1835.

Lord Byron, chalk sketch by George Henry Harlow (1815). This version was created by Henry Hoppner Meyer and printed in the New Monthly Magazine for 1815. John Murray Archive.

Bust of Lord Byron by Bertel Thorvaldsen (1817). This copy was made for John Murray in 1822.

Bust of Lord Byron by Lorenzo Bartolini (1822). National Portrait Gallery, London.

Lord Byron, by William Edward West (1822), showing he has gained weight. National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh.

Newstead Abbey today, Byron's ancestral home. Lady Caroline never visited there, however. (picture from the Nottingham Post).