Lot 76: A Gentleman traditionally identified as Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, KG (1726-1799), wearing brown coat, white waistcoat, chemise, stock and cravat, his hair powdered

A Gentleman traditionally identified as Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, KG (1726-1799), wearing brown coat, white waistcoat, chemise, stock and cravat, his hair powdered. Watercolour on ivory, gold-mounted on opalescent glass and surrounded by sprays of blonde and brown hair within a gold frame, the reverse glazed and bearing handwritten label inscribed, Portrait of/ Lord Howe. Oval, 44mm (1 3/4in) high

Sotheby's, London, 1 December 1980, lot 74

The sitter in the present lot bears a striking resemblance to Lord Admiral Howe. However, the full-scale oil portraits Howe sat for appear to confirm that he had a darker eye colour than the pale blue seen here. Howe was a British naval officer, noted for his service during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars.