Painter. He was a 19th century English portraitist, painting hundreds of portraits in oil on canvas and specializing in historical subjects. A favorite of Queen Victoria, his talents were appreciated with him being appointed as Queen Victoria's Principal Painter in Ordinary in 1837. His appointment to Queen Victoria's Principal Painter in Ordinary caused a problem with the Royal Academy as they usually selected this position, and it would not have been him. For his talents, he was awarded a Knighthood in 1841. His father was Charles Hayter, a miniature painter, popular drawing-master and the author of an introduction of perspective. His father taught perspective and was appointed Professor of Perspective and Drawing to Princess Charlotte, the daughter of George IV. His brother and sister were also painters. As a teenager, he became a challenge to his parents with his rebellious behavior. While studying art at the Royal Academy, he had a disagreement with his instructor, leaving school. He ran away from home, joining the Royal Navy, but his father brought him home. Then at age 16, he married a 28-year-old lady, and the couple had three children before separating when he was 20 years old. He began another two-decade relationship with another woman, having two more children. This behavior impacted his future as a professional artist, and with him falling out of favor, the Royal Academy never elected him as a member. In 1815 he was awarded the British Institution's premium for history painting for the "Prophet Ezra," receiving a two-hundred-guineas prize. In 1815 he returned to the Royal Academy Schools and in 1816, he traveled to Italy to study art, returning to England in 1818. In 1826 Hayter settled in Italy. In 1827, his mistress died from an accidental poisoning, drawing much negative attention to him. By late 1828 he was in Paris, where he painted portraits of English society members and successfully exhibiting in the Salon in Paris in 1831. The same year, he returned to England. Often not paid for his work, he executed nearly 400 portrait studies in oil. One of his most famous paintings, "The House of Commons," was executed in 1834 before the building was destroyed by fire. The painting captures the interior of the old building with a grand composition of hundreds of the Members of Parliament. The painting was purchased by the government for the nation in 1854. By the mid-1840 his style of portraits was considered old-fashion. At that point, he painted several Biblical scenes, including "The Angels Ministering to Christ" in 1849. He produced landscapes during this period. Over his career as a prolific portraitist, he painted 249 portraits of John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, Prime Minister of England; 640 portraits of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Prime Minister of England; 189 portraits of Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, Prime Minister of England; 157 portraits of Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet, a member of Parliament; 57 portraits of George Hamilton Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Prime Minister of England; 22 portraits of Hugh Fortescue, 2nd Earl Fortescue, a member of Parliament; 77 portraits of Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne and hundreds of portraits of other historical subjects. He painted or drew dozens of self-portraits. He painted a portrait of his second wife, Lady Martha, and she shares his grave marker. Upon his death, the contents of his studio were placed on auction. History has overlooked Sir George Hayter, mainly for his personality than his ability to capture an image in paint on canvas. Besides many of his portraits being privately owned, hundreds of his paintings are part of the Royal Collection and in the National Portrait Gallery. His "Portrait of Charlotte, Countess de la Bourdonnaye," a full-length portrait of her in a green dress, seated on a day bed on a terrace, with a dog on her lap, before a draped curtain, with an extensive landscape beyond sold at Christie's Auction in June of 2005 for $61,800.