(British/New York/Pennsylvania 1775-1849)

circa 1810, unsigned, bears note remnant about the sitter on original wood backing, watercolor or tempera on card with glazed surface, 9 x 7 in., period gilt wood and composition frame, 11-1/2 x 9-1/2 x 1-1/4 in.

Note: John Rubens Smith was a London-born painter, printmaker and art instructor who first studied art with his father, John Raphael Smith, a noted mezzotint engraver and artist. Smith emigrated to New York City prior to 1807 and lived and worked there for the remainder of his life. The sitter, George W. Prevost (1767-1840) was born in Schenectady, the son of Augustine and Susannah Prevost. His father was a Swiss-born officer in British service and the illegitimate son of Major General Augustine Prevost, while his mother was the daughter of George Croghan, noted explorer, trader, Indian agent, and land speculator. George Prevost initially followed in his father’s footsteps, but resigned his commission to manage the family’s extensive landholdings in New York.