Lewis Burwell (1711/2-1756)

This portrait was almost certainly painted in England. It is believed to represent Lewis Burwell, son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Carter Burwell. In 1736 he married Mary Willis. The portrait descended in the family of subject’s nephew, Nathaniel Burwell (1750-1814), son of Carter Burwell (1716-1756), Lewis’ brother.

Dimensions: 50 x 40 in. (127 x 101.6 cm.)

The subject wears a light brown jacket and a waistcoat embroidered all over with pink and blue flowers. His right hand wears a tan glove and holds another. His left hand is bare and rests on hip. He wears a dress sword and a wig with ponytail over left shoulder. A hat rests on a stone pediment next to his right arm on pediment. A carved window is behind him, trees visible beyond. He is turned three-quarters to his right.

See: Alexander Wilbourne Weddell, A Memorial Volume of Virginia Historical Portraiture 1585-1830 (1930), 177-178; FARL; Encyclopedia Virginia