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Open 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

National Gallery of Art

  • Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Food and Drink
    • Tours and Guides
    • Explore the Campus

    Admission is always free

    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
    Washington, DC 20565

    East building

    Must-Sees at the National Gallery

    Make the most of your visit

    Learn more

  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Calendar
    • Kid-Friendly Events

    America’s 250th

    Celebrating American art and artists

  • Art & Artists

    • Artworks
    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Fun and Games
    • Educational Resources
    • Research

    Open Call

    Artists Reimagining the Collection

    Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Utility

  • Support
  • Shop
  • Become a Member

  • Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Food and Drink
    • Tours and Guides
    • Explore the Campus

    Admission is always free

    6th and Constitution Ave NW 
    Washington, DC 20565

    East building

    Must-Sees at the National Gallery

    Make the most of your visit

    Learn more

  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Calendar
    • Kid-Friendly Events

    America’s 250th

    Celebrating American art and artists

  • Art & Artists

    • Artworks
    • Artists
    • Stories
    • Fun and Games
    • Educational Resources
    • Research

    Open Call

    Artists Reimagining the Collection

    Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Utility

  • Support
  • Shop
  • Become a Member

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  • Open 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
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    3. William Pitt, 2nd Earl of Amherst
    Provenance

    William Pitt, 2nd Earl of Amherst

    British, 1805 - 1910

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    Artwork

    Shown from the thighs up, a man with pale, peachy skin, wearing a black suit, cape, and hat, stands with one hand on his hip against an elephant-gray background in this vertical portrait painting. The portrait is loosely painted in some areas, especially in the clothing and background, though the face is more detailed. His body is angled slightly to our right so one shoulder juts toward us, to our left, and he turns his face to look at us brown eyes. One bushy brow is slightly arched. He has a long, bumped nose, soft jowls along his jawline, and perhaps a mole almost lost in shadow on his left cheek, to our right. His wide, pale peach lips are closed and framed by a thin, brushy mustache and a patch of hair under his lower lip. His shoulder-length, wavy, light brown hair curls around his face, and he wears a tall, black hat with a wide brim turned over his right ear, to our left. A hip-length black cloak drapes over a long-sleeved black jacket. A wide, flat, white collar lies across his shoulders and is tied with fluffy tassels that hang on his chest. Streaks of slate-gray suggest horizontal bands next to buttons down the front of his jacket and along the forearms, above white cuffs. He stands with his right arm, to our left, hanging by his side, and he holds the fabric of his cloak in a loose fist. The back of his other hand rests against his left hip, to our right, and a few streaks of parchment brown suggest a glove in that hand. The background is painted with thin, blended areas of gray and peanut brown.
    Frans Hals, Portrait of a Gentleman, 1650/1652, oil on canvas, Widener Collection, 1942.9.29

    Portrait of a Gentleman

    Portrait of a Gentleman

    Frans Hals · 1650/1652 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1942.9.29

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