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Lot Essay
As identified on the reverse, this portrait depicts Edward Byng (1706-1756), a son of Admiral George Stanley Byng (1663-1732). In 1730, Edward married Mary Bramston (1707-1744) and the couple lived on Grosvenor Street in the newly created parish of St. George’s Hanover Square, London. While his father and several of his brothers pursued careers in the Navy, this portrait suggests that Edward was an amateur architect. His 1756 will survives and although it does not appear to list the portrait here, it includes many references to “half length” portraits of family members (The National Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Series PROB 11; Class: PROB 11; Piece: 824, available at ancestry.com, accessed December 12, 2022).
Although previously attributed to John Wollaston the elder (1672-1749), this portrait compares favorably to the work of his son, John Wollaston the younger (act. 1742-1775). According to an 1812 letter written by Charles Willson Peale, the younger Wollaston trained under a drapery painter in London before travelling and working throughout the American colonies from 1749 to 1767. His earliest known portrait was painted in 1742, the same year as the date inscribed on the reverse of the work offered here.
Although previously attributed to John Wollaston the elder (1672-1749), this portrait compares favorably to the work of his son, John Wollaston the younger (act. 1742-1775). According to an 1812 letter written by Charles Willson Peale, the younger Wollaston trained under a drapery painter in London before travelling and working throughout the American colonies from 1749 to 1767. His earliest known portrait was painted in 1742, the same year as the date inscribed on the reverse of the work offered here.