Background: Sir Oswald Hornby Joseph Birley was born on 31 March 1880 in New Zealand. He was an English portrait painter in the early part of the 20th century.
Achievements: He served in France in World War I, first with the Royal Fusiliers, later transferring to the Intelligence Corps, obtaining the rank of Captain and being awarded the Military Cross in 1919. During World War II he served with the rank of Major in the Home Guard.
A favourite of the Royal Family, he was well known for his portraits of King George V, Queen Mary, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother and the present monarch Queen Elizabeth II.
He painted several highly regarded portraits of his friend Sir Winston Churchill (to whom he also gave lessons).
Other subjects were many war-time leaders such as Generals Eisenhower and Montgomery, as well as Admiral Mountbatten and Air Marshal Trenchard. He also painted the wealthy American financiers Andrew Mellon and J.P.Morgan, the psychiatrist Sir James Crichton-Browne and Welsh architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis.
He was knighted in 1949.