Lot Essay
This portrait closely resembles the work of William Winstanley, an English artist, who traveled to America where he was known, perhaps infamously, for copying Gilbert Stuart’s likenesses of George Washington. Here, the head is based on Stuart’s Vaughan-type portrait, a copy of which Winstanley is known to have owned, and the background includes details seen in Stuart’s Lansdowne-type portraits. Winstanley also painted landscapes, several of which were purchased by George Washington and remain at Mount Vernon today.