called William Byrd III (1728-1777)

This portrait has long been called William Byrd III. However, it does not appear to have descended directly in the family. Two other portraits of William Byrd III are known and only two are listed in the will of Mary Willing Byrd. Therefore, it is unlikely that this is William Byrd III. If it is William Byrd III, it left Westover before 1813. The style is close to John Hesselius’ ca. 1750 paintings.

Dimension: 49 1/4 x 38 in. (125.1 x 96.52 cm.)

The subject wears brown jacket with white waistcoat. He has his left hand in his waistcoat and his right hand on his hip. A hat is tucked under his left arm. A large dark ribbon holds his hair back. He stands outside in a landscape. A brown horse appears in the background.

See: Carolyn J. Weekley, Painters and Paintings in the Early American South (2013), 264.