Elizabeth Southerden Thompson, later known as Lady Butler, was a British painter who specialised in painting scenes from British military campaigns and battles, including the Crimean War and the Napoleonic Wars. Her notable works include The Roll Call, The Defence of Rorke's Drift, and Scotland Forever!. She wrote about her military paintings in an autobiography published in 1922: "I never painted for the glory of war, but to portray its pathos and heroism." She was married to British Army officer William Butler, becoming Lady Butler after he was knighted.
Self-portrait, 1869
Thompson's signature
carte de visite by Thrupp c.1875
Portrait of Thompson (unknown date, but no later than 1895)
Calling the Roll After An Engagement, Crimea, better known as The Roll Call, is an 1874 oil-on-canvas painting by Elizabeth Thompson, Lady Butler. It became one of the most celebrated British paintings of the 19th century, but later fell out of critical favour.
Elizabeth Thompson, Lady Butler, Calling the Roll After An Engagement, Crimea (1874; Royal Collection)