After Pieneman had approached Wellington with a sketch for The Battle of Waterloo, he was granted permission to paint the protagonists from life. He spent much of 1821 and 1822 in London, as Wellington’s guest. During his time in the English capital the Duke himself and a number of British officers posed for him. Wellington hung the portraits in his London home, Apsley House, on the edge of Hyde Park, which is now open to the public.