Colour Sergeant Milton

When Colour Sergeant William Henry Milton resigned from the Volunteers after 20 years of service his fellow soldiers presented him with a life size portrait of himself. Sergeant Milton resplendent in his red uniform of the 4th Regiment, New South Wales Volunteer Infantry, confidently engages the viewer. 'William Reay did not smooth his features, or direct his noble gaze into the distance, as he might have done with a general. Instead, he created a strong portrait of an ordinary man, probably as he wished to be seen. This painting recorded a significant moment in Milton's life, and, obliquely, the social position he occupied. To be depicted otherwise, perhaps as a gentleman, would have been a wholly inappropriate attempt at social elevation.' Richard Neville