Approx original canvas size: 24 x 20 ins. Kate Lowry has noted: Viewed out of frame. Frame is carved and gilded. The gilding has been recently coated with gold paint. There is no glazing or backboard. The original support is a simple weave, medium weight, linen canvas, now glue-lined onto a slightly finer weave linen. Original canvas turnovers have been removed at the time of lining. Attachment to the stretcher is now through the lining turnover with metal tacks. Lining and turnovers are in good condition. The present pine stretcher, which probably dates from the lining treatment, consists of five members with square mortice joints and provision for keying out. The stretcher appears to be British, late 19th or early 20th century, so the lining treatment must have been carried out before the painting was taken to the USA. The stretcher has some very faint numbers in various places on its reverse but is otherwise without distinguishing marks.
The original ground or priming, which can be observed at the extreme edges of the original canvas extending beyond the paint film, is a pale grey or white commercial oil preparation. Tiny white specks protrude from the ground and are visible at the paint surface, particularly in the upper right background where the paint film is thin; this type of ground deterioration has been found in other early works by Richard Wilson, notably P17 Portrait of Flora MacDonald, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh. Paint film: The portrait is half length within a painted fictive stone oval with some modelling at its lower edge to create a sense of depth. The face is underpainted a pale cool grey which is left unpainted in areas of shading around the nostrils and upper lip. This is characteristic of Wilson's style of modelling of flesh tones. The highlights in the eyes and the modelling of the jacket and waistcoat buttons are also very like his painting style. The hair-line is less abrupt than is often the case with Wilson but this may be because it is the sitter's own hair rather than a wig.
The painting was not viewed under UV light. Under normal light with low magnification the face appears to be in excellent condition with no obvious damages or retouching. The background within the oval is thin and worn at the upper right and around the line of the sitter's shoulder and arm to the left. There is a fine network of mature cracks throughout the paint film, but the paint appears quite secure. There is no drying crackle. A surface coating of modern synthetic resin varnish has been applied to the whole painting and is in good condition.
