Lieutenant-Colonel William Kirkpatrick with His Assistants

Executed in oil, Hickey employs a restrained palette, allowing the bright red of the coat and gold‑buttoned details to dominate the visual field. The figures are rendered with careful modelling, while the background recedes in softer tones, creating depth without detracting from the central portraiture. The composition aligns with early Orientalist conventions, balancing realism with a hint of exoticism.

Irish painter Thomas Hickey, trained at the Royal Dublin Society schools, produced the canvas after extensive travels that included a disrupted voyage to India and subsequent work in Lisbon, Portugal. The painting entered the National Gallery of Ireland’s collection, where it remains part of the institution’s holdings of early 19th‑century portraiture.

Created at the turn of the 19th century, the painting reflects the British Empire’s expanding influence in South Asia and the attendant demand for visual records of colonial officers. Hickey’s experience in multiple European and Asian locales informed his ability to depict both Western military regalia and local dress within a single frame.