Geoffrey Ashton was the doyen of cataloguing and succeeded in making this painstaking art glamorous. He brought to his work an incorrigible sense of humour, which is seen in this timely study of Lawrence. His always affable exterior effectively concealed a deep erudition which was principally concerned with the eighteenth century theatre. Many people do not realise that this area produced a tradition of remarkable painting and drawing and Geoffrey Ashton was privileged to catalogue the two main theatrical collections, namely those of The Theatre Museum and the Garrick Club, which sadly appeared posthumously.

Sir Thomas Lawrence painted some of the best known and loved images of the Regency period,Cherry Ripe, Pinkie and Master William Lambton (The Red Boy) which became some of the most famous images of Victorian and early twentieth century times. However, Lawrence's real genius was to bring to life a huge cross section of Late Georgian and Regency society, ranging from Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, through the swashbuckling grandees of parliament and society to solemn church dignitaries including the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Lawrence was the son of a Bristol innkeeper but from these humble beginnings he rose to the highest echelons of Regency society. He was a self-taught child prodigy who supported his family by doing pastel portraits of the nobility and established his first studio in Bath at the age of twelve. He later moved to London where his looks, charm and talent opened doors and, after a resounding early triumph with his portrait of the elderly and kindly Queen Charlotte (painted when he was only 20), he never looked back in terms of professional and social success. On the death of Reynolds, he was appointed official painter to George III and two years later 1794 became the youngest artist ever to be elected a Royal Academician - he was subsequently elevated to President in 1820, an office he held until his death ten years later.

His international reputation was ensured when the Prince Regent commissioned portraits of all the foreign leaders involved in the downfall of Napoleon - the resulting portraits are now to be seen in the Waterloo Chamber at Windsor Castle.

Today, Lawrence is regarded as the leading portrait painter of the whole of Europe of his time and this beautifully illustrated and longawaited book contains some of his finest work.