Description
The Scottish-born painter John Smibert studied in London and Italy before settling in Boston in 1728. His skills as a trained formal portraitist were in great demand among the wealthy and powerful colonists in Boston. Richard Bill was a prosperous merchant and politically involved citizen. Smibert depicted him dressed in fashionable costume and standing next to a writing table. A large ship is visible through the window in the background. These details hint at Bill’s success and prestige.
Provenance
Commissioned from the artist by the sitter (1685–1757), Boston, Mar. 1733 [The Notebook of John Smibert, p. 91]; by descent to his son-in-law, Joshua Henshaw (1703–1777), Boston, 1757; by descent to either his daughter, Sarah Henshaw (1736–1822), or his son Joshua Henshaw (1746–1823), 1777; by descent through the line of either their cousin Elizabeth Bass Henshaw (1737–1787) or cousin David Henshaw (1744–1808) to Andrew Henshaw Ward (1784–1864) and Sarah Henshaw Ward (1787–1863), Newton, MA, 1822 or 1823 [according to Lovell, Art in a Season of Revolution, pp. 134, 298]; by descent to their granddaughter Sarah Henshaw Carruth Washburn (1836–1919), Newton Corner, MA, 1864 [History of the Bill Family, pp. 110–111]; by descent to her daughter Gertrude Carruth Washburn Weeks (1861–1928), Boston, 1919; by descent to her husband Warren Bailey Potter Weeks (1858–1943), Boston, 1928; sold to Vose Galleries, Boston, Apr. 30, 1943; sold to M. Knoedler & Co., New York, Dec. 3, 1943; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1944.
Accession Number
49702
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
127.6 × 102.2 cm (50 1/4 × 40 1/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Friends of American Art Collection
