Thomas Bolling (1735-1804)

Thomas Bolling was the son of John and Elizabeth Blair Bolling of Cobbs. He married Elizabeth Gay. He was also painted by John Durand in 1778.

Dimensions: 40 1/4 x 30 1/8 in. (102.24 x 76.52 cm.)

The portrait represents a man wearing a blue suite with large gold buttons. He stands with his arms crossed and leans against an upright book. The book stands on a table covered with a green tablecloth. A packet of letters sits on the table. A bookshelf is partially visible in the background. One of the bindings clearly reads “Laws of Virginia.” A red curtain with gold fringe hands behind him. The portrait is a little bit smaller than a standard half-length.

See: Colonial Williamsburg eMuseum; Carolyn J. Weekey, Painters and Paintings in the Early American South (2013), 350.