Like his father, an American artist of the same name who settled in London in 1852, Woodville specialised in military themes. He studied in Dusseldorf and Paris and possessed a brilliant technique which enabled him to treat his subjects with graphic realism, evoking comparisons with Meissonier. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1879 and was also a prolific illustrator, working for the Illustrated London News for many years. Although he would tackle medieval and eighteenth-century battle scenes, as well as episodes from Victorian campaigns in Afghanistan, Egypt, Africa and elsewhere, he seems to have been particularly fond of dramatic scenes from the Napoleonic Wars. Another example, Napoleon before Wagram, also dated 1909, was sold in these Rooms on 21 January 1975, lot 87.