Sir Charles Wager (1666-1743)

Sir Charles Wager was a powerful official. The portrait descended in the Byrd family and was likely acquired by William Byrd II. The attribution to Gibson is based on similarity to other portraits of Wager by the artist. It may be a copy after an original portrait of the subject.

Reference: Bequeathed to Richard Willing Byrd in the will of Mary Willing Byrd

Dimensions: 30 x 25 in. (76.2 x 63.5 cm.)

The subject wears a blue jacket with silver buttons and a wig.

See: Mary Willing Byrd, “The Will of Mrs. Mary Willing Byrd, of Westover, 1813, with a List of the Westover Portraits,” Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 6, no. 4 (April 1899): 345-358; David Meschutt, “William Byrd and His Portrait Collection,” MESDA Journal 14, no. 1 (May 1988): 18-47.