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Richard Bill

Portrait of a light-skinned man in a long white wig and red-orange coat, holding a folded piece of paper and standing next to a desk, a large sailing ship off his left shoulder.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • Portrait of a light-skinned man in a long white wig and red-orange coat, holding a folded piece of paper and standing next to a desk, a large sailing ship off his left shoulder.

Date:

1733

Artist:

John Smibert
American, born Scotland, 1688–1751

About this artwork

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.

Status

On View, Gallery 165

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

John Smibert

Title

Richard Bill

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1733

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

127.6 × 102.2 cm (50 1/4 × 40 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Friends of American Art Collection

Reference Number

1944.28

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/49702/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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