Portrait of Edwin, 2nd Baron Sandys (1726-1797), half-length, in a red waistcoat and jacket

Benjamin West arrived in England in 1763 and quickly made a name for himself as one of the most sought-after painters in Georgian London. This portrait must have been painted within a decade of West's arrival in London, as it pre-dates Reynolds' portrait of the sitter (lot 96), which was executed in 1773. West was dubbed the ‘American Raphael’ by his contemporaries and his portrayal of The Death of General Wolfe in 1770 marked a landmark moment in his career, becoming one of the most reproduced images of the late-eighteenth century. His success as a portraitist and history painter soon gained him the attention of significant patrons, not least George III, who appointed him historical painter to the King in 1772, and commissioned from him a series of eight large canvases of the life of Edward III and a proposed cycle of thirty-six paintings, representing ‘the progress of revealed religion’ for a chapel at Windsor Castle (though only twenty-eight were actually completed).

We are grateful to Brian Allen and Martin Postle for proposing the attribution to Benjamin West.