He was perhaps best known for his depiction of heroism in a painting entitled "The Death of General Gordon, Khartoum, 26 January 1885" (1893; Leeds City Museum). Picturing a final moment in the very recent British history of the Siege of Khartoum, Gordon is pictured bravely facing his fate, standing above the followers of the invading Mahdi army moments before being struck down by a spear.