Born the illegitimate son of the Earl of Warwick, a significant patron of the arts, Chandler trained at the Royal Academy Schools and began to exhibit portraits and fancy pictures there between 1787-91. Being somewhat of a chameleon, Chandler actively imitated some of the leading portrait painters of his day, including the likes of Reynolds, Romney, Hoppner and Lawrence. The Earl of Warwick, to whom Chandler dedicated his gothic-novel Sir Hubert: An Heroic Ballad, gave him use of one of the medieval towers of Warwick Castle to use as a studio for painting. In addition to tracking his stylistic development, the article reidentifies a self portrait in the National Portrait Gallery and contains a checklist of works, the first of its kind produced for the artist.