Lot Essay
In his diary, Charles Willson Peale writes that he came to Chestertown on November 14, 1775 and dined with Colonel Lloyd and other gentlemen at Thomas Smith's on November 17th. He "began Col. Richard Lloyd's miniature," worked on it on the 21st and 22nd, and finished it on the 23rd. He left Chestertown that day for Philadelphia, where he had the miniature set; he received it back from the jeweler on January 11, 1776. A letter written by Colonel Lloyd to his brother reveals the sitter's opinion of the portrait: "Mr. Peale finished my picture this morning, November 22, 1775. My wife, Mrs. Tayloe and others, say it is like me. If it is, I do not know myself, though I think it is a good picture." (See Charles Coleman Sellers "Portrait Miniatures by Charles Willson Peale," Transactions of the American Philosophical Society (Philadelphia, 1952), p. 129.
The Lloyd family was one of the most prominent families in Maryland, and intermarried with other renowned families, such as the Tayloes, Cadwaladers, Chews, Ringgolds, and Tilghmans. During the Revolutionary War, Richard Lloyd was a member of the Maryland Convention of 1775 and colonel of the Kent County militia. Later, he was a justice of Kent County and was appointed judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals in 1778.
The Lloyd family was one of the most prominent families in Maryland, and intermarried with other renowned families, such as the Tayloes, Cadwaladers, Chews, Ringgolds, and Tilghmans. During the Revolutionary War, Richard Lloyd was a member of the Maryland Convention of 1775 and colonel of the Kent County militia. Later, he was a justice of Kent County and was appointed judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals in 1778.