Sir Peter Francis Bourgeois

Peter Francis Bourgeois (1753-1811) was a painter and collector. He was born in London of a Swiss father, the watchmaker Isaac Bourgeois (1726-93) and English mother. This painting is probably the 'Portrait of an artist' exhibited at the RA in 1794, identified in an annotated copy of the catalogue as Bourgeois (National Gallery Library). It is presumably also the portrait of Bourgeois that Northcote listed as painted in 1795, which was engraved in that year by Levey (in oval format). A photograph by Emery Walker shows modifications to the hairstyle; these have since been removed (National Portrait Gallery Library).