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Elizabeth Harrison Randolph (Mrs. Peyton Randolph), c. 1755 By family tradition, this painting is identified as a portrait of Mrs. Peyton Randolph. With no proof to the contrary, it is reasonable to conclude that the sitter was in fact the wife of the famous Speaker of the House of Burgesses and president of the Continental Congress. If that attribution is correct, this portrait (which descended with the Wilton group) was commissioned by the builder of Wilton primarily because the sitter was his wife Anne's sister, a person in close contact with her Wilton relatives. In 1754, shortly before she would have sat for Wollaston, Betty Randolph had traveled with her husband to London. Her experiences there would have been a topic of conversation with the artist, for six years had passed since the painter had left his home. He responded to this amiable and well-traveled sitter by producing an outstanding (if now abraded) portrait, the quality of which survives in at least some of its details. |
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