A portrait drawing of Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934); bust length, turned almost in profile, to the right. He has a full moustache, and wears a wing collar, tie and three-piece suit. Signed and dated, lower left; with the sitter's signature, lower centre.

The English late Romantic composer Edward Elgar is best known for his orchestral works, the Enigma Variations and Pomp and Circumstance, and for his oratorio The Dream of Gerontius.

He was appointed to the Order of Merit in 1911. The Order of Merit was founded on the Coronation of King Edward VII in 1902 and recognises exceptional contributions to the arts and sciences. The Order continues to be restricted to 24 members, each of whom is personally appointed by the monarch. In 1907, King Edward VII initiated a tradition of commissioning portraits of members of the Order of Merit by the artist William Strang, whose coloured chalk drawings on buff or pale pink paper consciously echo the Holbein drawings in the Royal Collection.

The  Order of Merit commissions fell into abeyance with the outbreak of the First World War, but the tradition was revived by The Queen in 1987. Portraits of newly appointed members of the Order of Merit continue to be commissioned and added to the Royal Collection.