We called in at the National Portrait Gallery for a cup of tea yesterday, perplexed by the stories of a massive loss of visitors, but there was no lack of them on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Regency galleries which I remember as often deserted. We stopped to admire the creamy brushwork in Lawrence’s portrait of Lord Liverpool:-
And the studio portrait of Burke (but what is Burke doing in the Regency galleries ?):-


What a fine portrait artist Lawrence was ! A full RA by the age of 25, and PRA at 41.
As you say, it’s hard to see why Burke is in the Regency Gallery. Some mistake, surely ?