It is by John Singer Sargent and shows 22 senior officers in dress uniform with spurs on their boots. In reality, these officers were never all in one place and Sargent worked from photographs to compose the painting.
The NPG has some notes to accompany the painting.
'These are the men known to the troops as the 'Brass Hats', on whom history has turned a cold eye. They were mocked at the same time in the soldiers' version of the hymn:
Onward Christian soldiers
Onward without fear
With our great commanders
Safely in the rear
A war in which the horse became obsolete, and tanks and aeroplanes were used for the first time, the Great War mobilised 5.7 million British and Dominion soldiers, cost 700.000 lives, and left 1.6 million wounded.'
These figures for dead and wounded apply to British soldiers only. The total loss of life on both sides [including civilians] was over 15 million, with over 20 million wounded.
Sources: National Portrait Gallery, Wikipedia,
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