George Byng Later 7th Viscount Torrington

Robert Frain active 1829-1877, was a Scottish painter. There is very little biographical information regarding Frain, however he was active in the first quarter to the third quarter of the 19th Century, and his works, as few as they are, are in demand in print. Frain painted some of the wealthiest and influential people of his time. This portrait shows the young George Byng, 1812-1884, holding a book in one hand and a Barristers wig in the other, he was studying the law and this portrait was painted I suspect just before or as he inherited the title of Viscount. The canvas shows a Thomas Brown Holborn stamp and register mark GBWLK329, which we have so far been unable to research effectively. However Brown of Holborn was a well known supplier of artist materials to the most famous painters of the 19th Century, a list of which is available on the NPG website. Frain signed and dated the picture and Byng would have been about 17 when this picture was painted, his father the 6th Viscount was friends with Sir Thomas Lawrence, another famous artist and President of the Royal Academy, consequently the boy George would have been familiar with the process of portrait painting. The Regency painters book and Charles Greville Diary contains more information of the Torrington and Lawrence family biography. The size quoted is the picture canvas painting only the frame is an additional 6 inches high and 6 inches wide. The Torrington line of Viscounts is currently held by the 11th Viscount, Timothy Torrington.