Painter. He is particularly well known for his more than 300 portraits of Russian offices who took part in the War against Napoleon. These portraits constitute the collection displayed in the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace (The Hermitage) in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was born in the family of artists with his father being his first tutor. He later entered the Royal Academy of Arts, becoming Academician in 1814. He traveled Europe extensively and attracted the attention of the Russian Emperor Alexander I, receiving a commission to paint Russian military and diplomatic figures. Later, during the reign of Nicholas I, he became the First Portrait Painter of the Imperial Court in Russia. He was on close terms with many Russian famous people, including the poet Alexander Pushkin, who dedicated a poem to him. He caught cold in Russia which made him return to London, where he died shortly after. (bio by: julia&keld)