Portrait of a Gentleman traditionally identified as Major John Andre, half-length, in a red coat with gold trim and a white stock, feigned oval

John Andr (1751-1780) was a Major in the British Army in America, and aide-de-camp to General Grey and Sir Henry Clinton. In the War of Independence he was executed as a spy by the American army, on 1 October 1780, for his role in a plot hatched by Benedict Arnold to betray West Point to the British. His fate was greatly lamented by both sides and the stoic way in which he met it much admired. Few certain portraits of Andr are known. This portrait can be compared to the posthumous engraving by J. K. Sherwin (Rosenbach Foundation Museum, Pennysylvania) and the pencil sketch that Andra made of himself on the day preceding his execution (Trumbull Gallery, yale College).