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Notes
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When the National Army Museum acquired the portrait of a Napoleonic military musician, the identities of both the soldier and the painter were unknown. He is wearing a Waterloo Campaign Medal, the first British medal awarded to soldiers regardless of rank. Only nine Black soldiers are known to have received the Waterloo Medal. Depictions of Black military musicians appear occasionally in eighteenth and nineteenth-century art, but paintings featuring an identifiable individual are extremely scarce, and portraits of non-White veterans from Waterloo are even more rare. The Bandsman is holding a cymbal and is depicted with a fur pelisse and a white jacket, suggesting that he was a percussionist in a cavalry regiment. These details helped to narrow down the possibilities until a likely candidate emerged: Thomas James.
The National Army Museum’s curators have attributed the work to Thomas Phillips, RA, a prominent artist at the time who painted many significant society figures. It is believed that a senior officer may have commissioned the portrait of James in gratitude for his efforts. It is likely to have been displayed in an officer’s mess or similar Army establishment, but over time, Thomas’s identity was lost. Although the identification is not completely certain, the Museum’s research shows that James is very likely to be the mystery musician.
National Army Museum
London
Title
Thomas James (b.1789)
Date
after 1815
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 74 x W 62 cm
Accession number
NAM.2025-01-25-1-1
Acquisition method
purchased with support from the Art Fund and private donors, 2024
Work type
Painting