Portrait of Lewis, 1st Viscount Harcourt

This portrait, painted from a photograph, shows the head and shoulders of Lewis Vernon Harcourt (1863-1922). Harcourt entered Parliament in 1904 and became the First Commissioner of Works as well as Secretary of State for the Colonies. Together with Reginald, 2nd Viscount Esher, he played a key role in founding the London Museum which opened to the public in 1912 and later became the Museum of London in 1976. Harcourt was raised to peerage, as 1st Viscount Harcourt, in 1917.

Commissioned by the Trustees of the London Museum in 1922, this is likely to be a posthumous portrait, painted to commemorate Harcourt's achievements. For varying periods he was a Trustee of the British Museum, the Wallace Collection and the National Portrait Gallery. Lord Harcourt served as a Trustee of the London Museum until his death.

The Jewish artist Solomon J. Solomon (1860-1927) established a reputation for himself as a painter of portraits, as well as classical and religious paintings, nudes and genre scenes. In 1919 he became President of the Royal Society of British Artists, the same year he joined the Society.