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Portrait of Jacob Fox (b. 1755?)
No image number on slide

Portrait of Jacob Fox (b. 1755?)

Date1774
Artist William Williams of Bristol (1727 - 1791)
OriginAmerica, New York, New York City
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed (including aluminum lipover molding): 22 1/8 x 17 1/8in. (56.2 x 43.5cm) and Framed: 26 7/16 x 21 5/16 x 1 3/4in.
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1956-141
DescriptionA full-length portrait of a man standing in a landscape. His body is nearly full front to the viewer, but his proper left foot is placed at a right angle to his proper right foot, and his head is turned three quarters to the right. His proper left hand is inserted in the pocket of his knee breeches; in his other hand he holds a red and black marbelized telescope with brass mounts. His thin wig is white and styled in a queue with tight side curls; he has a light, pinkish complexion and blue eyes. He wears a white ruffled shirt, white stockings, black coat, black waistcoat, black breeches, and black shoes with silver buckles. A black cocked hat lays on the rocky ledge beside him. His proper right elbow rests on an outcropping of rock. A rock formation at the left side runs the full height of the picture and nearly arches over his head. A bank of earth topped by two saplings borders the right side of picture. The subject stands on brown earth that recedes to a rocky coastline. To the right of the subject, a square-rigged ship and three other smaller vessels are visible on a body of water in the distance. The sky is partly cloudy, varying from blue to light pink.

The 2 3/8-inch Maratta-style frame, constructed with corner splines, originally was gilded, but its surface has suffered considerably in recent years, including retouching with bronze paint. Beading runs the sight edge, gadrooning the outer one, with a scoop molding between. It appears to be period and is possibly original.
Label TextAs cited in "Provenance," the painting descended in the family of the subject, whom CWF's source readily identified as Jacob Fox of Port Royal, Virginia, born about 1755. As yet, no confirmation has been made of these assertions, although several possibilities remain to be explored. For instance, in the 1750s, one William Fox --- possibly some relation to, if not the father of, the painted subject --- was a prosperous ship-owner, merchant, tavern-keeper, and original member of the Kilwinning Crosse [Masonic] Lodge in Port Royal, Caroline County, Virginia. (A Jacob Fox was listed as a member of the same Lodge ca. 1770.) And in 1771, 1772, and 1774, a Jacob Fox (possibly the Lodge member) was listed as a ship's captain trading out of Virginia --- a role that corresponds neatly to this portrait subject's elegant telescope and the sailing vessels depicted behind him.

William Williams is not known to have worked in Virginia. After stints in Philaldephia and Jamaica, the English-born artist took up residence in New York City by 1769 and, about 1776, left there for England, where he died. Jacob Fox's clearly-dated 1774 portrait thus falls well within the span Williams is believed to have spent in New York City. Fox could have traveled there. In fact, ship captain Jacob Fox is known to have operated between Virginia and New York in 1774.

William Williams had a son who also took up easel painting. Confusingly, the son was also named William Williams, and the works of the two men have been confused in years past. Jacob Fox's likeness includes all the earmarks of the father's style, including crisp delineation, elongation of the figure, and a contrived, theatrical setting. In this picture, the last is suggested by the dark mound occupying much of the right side and part of the lower edge of the picture and by the stacked, rocky ledge that similarly defines the left side and part of the upper edge. The effect is hardly coincidental: Williams is known to have painted stage scenery in Philadelphia. The full-length format and small scale of the painting belie the artist's English origins, inevitably recalling the conversation pieces that were so much more popular in Britain than America.
InscribedIn the lower right corner in black paint is: "W: Will[iams?]/Pinxt 1774." The name is in block letters, the Latin word in script.
MarkingsA modern, press-printed, water-adhesive label on the back of the upper frame member reads: "No53089/FRAME."
ProvenanceKnoedler's bill of sale dated 26 March 1956 fails to give a clear, unbroken line of descent, but it states that the subject's "sister, Elizabeth Fox (1753-1806) married Thomas Hepburn of Portsmouth, Virginia, and their daughter Ann, who married William Buckler (1736-1835) inherited the painting." Under the heading "collection," it also names "William H. Buckler, Baltimore, Maryland, grandson of Ann Hepburn Buckler, the niece of the sitter."

Thus, presumably, the painting descended from the sitter either to his sister, Mrs. Thomas Hepburn (Elizabeth Fox)(1753-1806), or directly to his niece, his sister's daughter, Mrs. William Buckler (Ann Hepburn); perhaps then to her son, Dr. Thomas Hepburn Buckler (1812-1901) of Baltimore, Md.; lastly to his son, William Hepburn Buckler (1867-1952) of Baltimore, Md.