Portrait of Doctor James Lloyd, (ca. 1808) by Gilbert Stuart

Gilbert Stuart (American, 1755-1828)

Gilbert Stuart was an American portrait painter who is considered one of the most important portraitists in the United States. He is best known for his portrait of George Washington, which is featured on the American one-dollar bill. 

He painted around 1,000 portraits, including the first six U.S. presidents, and his works are housed in major museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Born in Rhode Island, Stuart trained under Scottish artist Cosmo Alexander before studying in England under Benjamin West. His 1782 painting, The Skater, gained him fame, and he returned to the U.S. in 1793, determined to paint Washington. He produced multiple copies of his Washington portraits, securing his reputation and financial success, though he remained in debt throughout his life.

Settling in Boston in 1805, Stuart continued painting despite financial struggles. He suffered a stroke in 1824 and died in 1828, buried in an unmarked grave due to his family's debts. Today, his birthplace in Saunderstown, Rhode Island, operates as a museum showcasing his work and legacy.

This portrait of Doctor James Lloyd (1728–1810) was an American surgeon and obstetrician, considered the first specialized obstetrician in America. Trained in Boston and London, he introduced advanced surgical techniques and mentored young physicians.

During the Revolutionary War, he served as a British army surgeon, was jailed as a traitor, but later released. After the war, he refused British citizenship despite offers of financial compensation. A founder of the Massachusetts Medical Society, Lloyd remained influential in American medicine. He died in Boston in 1810.

Oil on canvas laid down on panel

32 ⅞" × 26 ½" , frame - 41 ⅜" x 35 ½"

Exhibited: Boston Athenacum, 1829. Illustrated: L. Park Gilbert Stuart: An Illustrated Descriptive List of His Works, vol. 1, p. 485, no. 500; C.K. Shipton Biographical Skerches of Those Who Attended Harvard College in the Classes 1746-1750, vol. XIII, pp. 184-193; Herdeg-70.

Provenance: The sitter, thence by descent in the family; Christie's, June 5, 1997, lot 44; South Bay Auction, 2019, lot 239.