King George V (1865-1936) stands, at three-quarter-length, in an interior, facing slightly to the left, resting his right hand on the top of a table. He is wearing a white tie and Windsor uniform, with the riband, star and garter of the Order of the Garter. This portrait, together with a portrait of Queen Mary (RCIN 407413), was painted by Oswald Birley (1880-1952) at Windsor in early 1934. It was exhibited at the Royal Academy later that year and then hung in the Queen’s Vestibule at Windsor. Birley painted the King on a number of other occasions, mostly for public organisations. Significant portraits include those in the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, 1928; National Portrait Gallery, 1933 and the Fusiliers Museum, London, 1935. Oswald Birley was one of the most successful portrait painters of his generation. He trained in Paris under Marcel Baschet at the Académie Julian from 1901 to 1904, exhibiting regularly at the Salon. In 1905 he travelled to Spain and made a series of copies after Velázquez. Indeed, the dark tones of the King’s uniform and background are in stark contrast to his white shirt, and seek to highlight both the medals and the King’s expression in a way that echoes of the work of the Spanish master. From 1906 onwards Birley was working in London, and exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1904 until 1945.