Edward Bird, RA, 
British 1772-1819- 

Sketch for 'A Tale of Waterloo': A seated man with a walking stick; 

oil on panel, signed and dated 'E. Bird / 1816' verso, bears old label inscribed 'The Sketch of the old man, listening / to the soldier, who is describing, in / a public House, the Battle of Waterloo' attached verso, 26.5 x 16.5 cm. 

Note: 
The present work is likely a study for Bird’s finished painting, ‘A Tale of Waterloo’, which sold at Sotheby’s, London, 11 July 1997 (£3,680). The final painting depicts a soldier in military uniform regaling his listeners with tales from the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the decisive battle in which the Prussian and British forces defeated the French army, effectively precipitating the collapse of the Napoleonic empire. The figure depicted in the present work is most likely a study for the old man who sits to the right of Bird’s larger painting, in between the two female onlookers. 

Bird spent much of his working life in Bristol, and it is largely around him that the Bristol School of artists formed, with members including Francis Danby (1793-1861), James Baker Pyne (1800-1870), and Samuel Jackson (1794-1869). He was a prominent painter, initially of genre scenes in which capacity he threatened the position of David Wilkie (1785-1841) as the pre-eminent artist in this field. Later in his career, he developed a greater interest in historical scenes, and particularly in the depiction of battles. He was appointed 'Historical Painter' to Princess Charlotte in 1813.