Lord Viscount Sydney

PortraitThomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney (1732–1800), oil painting by the American painter Gilbert Stuart.

The sitter is portrayed life-sizeed at half-length, seated in an armchair upholstered in red and studded with small brass-headed nails, his body is nearly full-front with the head and dark brown eyes turned three-quarters left. He wears a dark green coat with a collar of black velvet, his coat being buttoned across his chest, but opened below, showing a brownish-gray waistcoat. His stock and shirt ruffles are of white muslin and his wig or hair is powdered. His face is plump and his complexion "beefy," expressing mental and physical activity with a look of hauteur. He sits beside a table covered with a varicolored cloth in which is an inkstand, two quill pens, a tray with a piece of red sealing-wax, and a packet of letters, with one unfolded. On the latter the word "London" can be deciphered. His left arm rests upon the chair arm and the left hand, partially closed, is shown, but the right hand is concealed by the table. The background is plain and of warm brownish tones.