Colonel Charles Carter of Cleve (1707-1764)

Charles Carter was a son of Robert “King” Carter and his second wife, Elizabeth Landon. His first wife was Mary Walker. His second wife was Anne Byrd of Westover. They married in 1741. His third wife was Lucy Taliaferro. The artist of this portrait is unknown. His wife, Anne Byrd Carter, was painted by John Hesselius and William Dering. He was apparently also painted by John Hesselius and may have been painted a third time. This portrait descended along with the one of his wife, Anne Byrd Carter, by William Dering. Charles Carter’s father, Robert “King” Carter left his sons their own pictures, indicating that this portrait may originally have been commissioned by “King” Carter and displayed at Corotoman before his death. Charles Carter built a home at Cleve in ca. 1746.

Possible reference: His father’s will stated, “my pictures each Child to have his own picture,” Will of Robert “King” Carter, 1726

Dimensions: 49 x 40 in. (124.5 x 101.6 cm.)

The subject stands in blue jacket and waistcoat with gold buttonholes and buttons and wears a white wig. He stands turned three-quarters to his left with one hand in his waistcoat and a dress sword at his hip. A gold-trimmed hat sits on a small ledge and there is a view to a landscape behind him.

See: Colonial Williamsburg eMuseum; Encyclopedia Virginia; Edmund Berkeley, Jr., ed., The Diary, Correspondence, and Papers of Robert “King” Carter of Virginia, 1701-1732 (2009), 25.