In 1832 French portraitist Alexandre-Jean Dubois Drahonet was commissioned by William IV to paint one hundred pictures illustrating the uniform of the British Army. The Royal Collection retains most of this series. A photograph of the Equerry’s Room at Windsor Castle taken in around 1900 shows some of these paintings hanging together, framed in groups.

During the period of peace following the Napoleonic Wars, increasingly elaborate (and often quite impractical) military attire was devised, particularly by George IV. By the time William IV came to the throne in 1830, uniforms had become too expensive and were simplified and adapted once again. The result of these changes was codified and promulgated in the 1831 Dress Regulations. These paintings were intended to provide a visual record of the recent changes to military dress. Their value is not only historical, however, but also aesthetic: Drahonet produces lively, slightly elongated figures, capturing their facial expressions and setting them in a variety of organic poses.

Each painting in the series depicts a single figure against a neutral background. Although their uniform and accoutrements are the focus, the sitters are often identified by name, as well as regiment and rank. As the inscription relays, shown here is Captain James Dawson of the 14th (The King's) Light Dragoons. The Light Dragoons were a cavalry regiment particularly responsible for scouting and reconnaissance duties, and were less heavily armed than the standard Dragoons.

The dress of the Light Dragoons had undergone complete transformation in the years preceding Drahonet’s paintings. Their coatee, previously blue, was reissued after a General Order of 1830 stipulated that the regiment be dressed in red. From 1831, their overalls changed from light blue-grey to dark blue. The Captain also wears the new model of bell-top shako approved for the regiment in 1828, decorated with an elaborate plaited festoon and gilt Maltese cross and topped by large white plume. Aspects of Dawson’s uniform reflect his rank as Officer: he wears gold bullion epaulettes and the stripes on his trousers are also gold rather than red. His shako plume is also fuller and more luxuriant, made of cock’s tail feathers rather than horsehair.