Portrait of a Young Man

An accompanying hand-written label states: Sir Peter Francis Bourgeois Knt R. A./Founder of the Dulwich Gallery - / Born - 1756 Died 1811/ By W. Beechey./ on Ivory The head of this anonymous sitter appears well finished, the remainder very slapdash; the background and coat seem to have been repainted, possibly because of damage cause by moulding. The former attribution to Beechey is extremely unlikely while the sitter, who appears to be under twenty years old, cannot be Bourgeois - as a label on the back states.