Captain Robert Lillibridge

William Verstille, Captain Robert Lillibridge, ca. 1795, watercolor on ivory, sight 2 ³⁄₈ x 1 ³⁄₄ in. (6.0 x 4.4 cm) oval, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1975.59.1

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Artwork Details

Title: Captain Robert Lillibridge
Artist: William Verstille
Date: ca. 1795
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: sight 2 ³⁄₈ x 1 ³⁄₄ in. (6.0 x 4.4 cm) oval
Credit Line: Museum purchase
Mediums: watercolor
Mediums Description: watercolor on ivory
Classifications: Painting
Miniature
Subjects: Portrait male — Lillibridge, Robert
Dress — historic — eighteenth century dress
Object Number: 1975.59.1
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1975.59.1

Artwork Description

Robert Lillibridge, a sea captain born in 1767, died aboard his ship of typhoid fever in 1809. His crew buried him at sea off the coast of Africa. This portrait of Captain Lillibridge shows William Verstille’s tendency to portray his subjects with dramatic eyes set closely under the brows, with “bristly” hair and thin lips that appear slightly misplaced.