George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland

Signed 'Ape' (Carlo Pellegrini), this chromolithograph is plate 88 in the Vanity Fair 'Statesmen' series, No. 54. The composition exaggerates the Duke's large, rounded head — crowned with a full auburn beard and shaggy hair — set atop a slight, stooping body in a dark frock coat and pale striped trousers, hands tucked behind his back. The posture and downcast gaze convey a studied modesty. The caption declares him 'Simple and unassuming himself, yet magnificent and generous towards his fellow men — the very Prince of Dukes,' flattering a man whose family owned vast Highland estates. No ethnic caricature is present; Pellegrini's wit here targets aristocratic self-effacement, contrasting immense inherited wealth with the sitter's reportedly unpretentious manner.