called Philip Lightfoot

Philip Lightfoot was a son of Philip Lightfoot and Mary Armistead Lightfoot of Sandy Point. He was a brother of William Lightfoot who inherited Sandy Point. Philip Lightfoot’s life dates are unclear, though he predeceased his father who died in 1748. According to FARL records, this portrait descended in the family at Sandy Point until the nineteenth century when Sandy Point was abandoned. It is very likely the portrait mentioned by a descendant whose description was recorded in an 1895 family history. The facial features bear very close resemblance to John Wollaston. Wollaston did not paint in Virginia until the 1750s. If this portrait is by Wollaston, it could represent William Lightfoot, or it could represent another brother, Armistead Lightfoot (1731-1771). It is possible that the subjects of the portraits were confused by a later generation.

Reference: Family history of portraits once hanging at Sandy Point: “There is preserved a portrait of William Lightfoot, with date 1750, full length, life size, in blue court dress; a portrait of his brother Philip, same size and style, in red court dress. These portraits were pronounced very fine by Volkmar, the best authority in this line. he said the only ones he had ever seen like them were some sent him to be cleaned by General Robert E. Lee, and identified them positively as the work of Hudson, the master of Sir Joshua Reynolds.”

The subject wears a red jacket and a lighter-colored waistcoat with elaborate embroidery. He stands outdoors with his right arm resting on a stone plinth and his left hand on his hip.

See: Lyon G. Tyler, “The Lightfoot Family,” William and Mary Quarterly 3, 2 (October 1895): 110; FARL