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D2012-CMD. Portrait
Portrait of Captain William Preston Smith (1780-1801)
D2012-CMD. Portrait

Portrait of Captain William Preston Smith (1780-1801)

Date1800-1801
Attributed to José Francisco Xavier de Salazar y Mendoza (1750?-1802)
OriginAmerica, Louisiana, New Orleans
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed: 38 x 30 1/8in. (96.5 x 76.5cm) and Framed: 44 1/16 x 36 1/8 x 2 1/2in.
Credit LineMuseum Purchase: Mr. and Mrs. Donald Bogus, Robert Brent and Cynthia Reddick, Judy and John Herdeg, Ms. Beatrice Gibbons and Dr. Karl Kilgore, Barbara R. Luck, Stewart Shillito Maxwell, Carolyn J. Weekley, The Decorative Arts Society of Cincinnati, The Gladys and Franklin Clark Foundation, The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund, and an Anonymous Donor
Object number2012-74
DescriptionA half-length portrait of a standing man, his body turned slightly towards the viewer's left, his gaze to the front. He wears a dark blue coat with silver buttons and red facings, a white waistcoat, a black neckcloth or stock (over a white collar or neckcloth), a white ruffled shirt, a white sword belt, and a black cocked hat with a red and black cockade affixed with a silver eagle. Only the tip of the hilt of his sword shows, hanging by his proper left side and fixed with a red and silver striped knot. His proper right hand is thrust beneath his partially unbuttoned waistcoat. His proper left arm is bent at the elbow and held behind his body. He has brown eyes and dark blonde or light brown hair and wears sideburns. The background is a warm brown, lighter around the subject's face. Lighter brown feigned spandrels fill the corners of the canvas.

The original frame remains unlocated. The portrait was received in 2012 in a 3 1/4-inch gilded, scoop-molded frame commissioned in 2011 from South Royal Studios of Alexandria, Va., by then-owner James L. Kochan.

Label TextSmith was the son of Colonel Francis Smith and Ann Preston Smith of Virginia. During the Revolutionary War, the Smiths moved to Kentucky where William Preston was born. At age 14, he was appointed an ensign in America’s fledgling army, the Legion of the United States. Two years later his unit was reorganized into the 3rd U. S. Infantry, and the next year Smith was promoted to Lieutenant. In March 1800, he was named a captain, a rank signified in this portrait by the single epaulette on his right shoulder. Captain Smith died in July 1801, probably from yellow fever.

It is believed that Smith’s commanding officer, James Wilkinson, commissioned the likeness when the two were in New Orleans. Smith never married. The portrait passed to one of his sisters and through her family until it was purchased by the Foundation in 2011. It is an exceptional example of Salazar’s waist-length portraits, his ability to capture likenesses faithfully, and his fondness for costume detail.

ProvenanceIt has been speculated that James Wilkinson, the subject's superior officer, commissioned the portrait, but this is unverified. Regardless, upon the subject's death, the painting is believed to have gone to the subject's younger sister, Agatha Smith Marshall (Mrs. Louis Marshall)(1782-1844) of Woodford County, Kentucky. It then descended through the family to Susanne Alexander Stremlau Lewis (1948-2008) and, thence, to her husband, Chester Robertson Lewis III (b. 1950) of Woodford County, Kentucky, who sold it at auction (Neal Auction Co., New Orleans, Louisiana) November 21-22, 2009. It was purchased there by dealer James L. Kochan who, in turn, sold it to CWF.


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