19th Century

Commissioned by the future George IV to celebrate the Allied victory over Napoleon, this portrait shows the Duke of Wellington in red dress uniform with sash and sword, St Paul's Cathedral visible behind him amid a victory procession. It hangs today in the Waterloo Chamber at Windsor Castle, among a pantheon of military heroes Lawrence was commissioned to paint.

This portrait depicts a British Army officer in scarlet dress uniform, gold epaulettes and sash, with plain black riding boots beneath. It follows the conventions of early 19th-century military portraiture, when officers were commonly painted standing in full dress before a battlefield backdrop — the source for this boot's clean, unadorned design

This wartime painting shows Lieutenant General George S. Patton in dress uniform and his signature three-star helmet, flanked by aides before a colonnaded entrance. Patton was known for pairing his uniform with tall leather riding boots — the cavalry-officer style that inspired this boot's buckled, military silhouette.

This studio portrait shows a young woman in classic equestrienne dress — wide-hipped jodhpurs, a loose blouse, and tall black riding boots — capturing the era when women riding astride became both practical and fashionable. The clean, unadorned boot style seen here inspired this design.