Portrait of Charles Steuart (1725-1797)

Dateca. 1785

Possibly by David Allan (1744 - 1796)

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsUnframed: 30 7/8 x 25 5/8in. (78.4 x 65.1cm) and Framed: 36 1/8 x 31 5/8 x 1 1/2in.

Credit LineGift of Miss Sylvia Steuart

Object number1956-495

DescriptionA half-length portrait of a man turned three-quarters to the right, his gaze on the viewer. His hands do not show. Feigned spandrels fill the corners of the canvas, and the background is a warm brown. The subject's gray hair, presumably a wig, is curled up at ear level and caught behind in a que tied with a dark bow. He wears a mauve-colored suit and waistcoast, both having gold braid trim and gold buttons. He wears a white neckcloth and a white shirt ruffle projects through the opening of his waistcoat.

The frame is a period replacement, acquired from the Old Print Shop, New York, NY, and added to the picture in 1960, per memo Wing to Stubbs, 9/15/1960.
Label TextIn 1762, Charles Steuart prevented an international incident by defending a party of Spanish naval officers from a Norfolk, Virginia, mob. As a reward, King George III named him Receiver General of His Majesty's Customs in North America.

Today Steuart is best known for his role in a landmark legal case involving slavery. James Somerset, an enslaved man, typically accompanied Steuart in his travels. In 1771, while the two were in England, Somerset ran away. Following his re-capture, Steuart intended to sell Somerset in Jamaica. Abolitionists mobilized and the court ruled that a slave in England could not be forcibly returned to the colonies. While the ruling did not bring about the end of slavery, it paved the way for true emancipation legislation.

What’s the Connection?
Born in Scotland, Steuart came to Virginia in 1741 to work as a storekeeper for a Glasgow tobacco merchant. He prospered in business, eventually heading his own mercantile establishment in Norfolk.

InscribedOn the reverse of the original canvas, now covered by lining canvas, is "Chas. Steuart,/AEt. 40. 1765." Regarding whether this date can be taken as the actual date of execution, see James Holloway to CWF, July 2, 2005.
ProvenanceThe portrait is believed to have descended in the subject's collateral family, as CWF's donor, Miss Sylvia Steuart, was the subject's great-great-great-grandniece. However, the exact line of descent has not been documented as of 4/4/2009.