Richard Bill
John Smibert (American, born Scotland, 1688–1751)
1733
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- 127.6 × 102.2 cm (50 1/4 × 40 1/4 in.)
- Culture
- Boston
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of the Americas
- Credit line
- Friends of American Art Collection
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
The Scottish-born painter John Smibert studied in London and Italy before settling in Boston in 1728. His skills as a trained formal portraitist were in great demand among the wealthy and powerful colonists in Boston. Richard Bill was a prosperous merchant and politically involved citizen. Smibert depicted him dressed in fashionable costume and standing next to a writing table. A large ship is visible through the window in the background. These details hint at Bill’s success and prestige.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
