Robert Feke

This portrait was once believed to depict Rhode Island merchant Joseph Whipple, but the sitter’s youthful countenance demonstrates that it is Whipple’s son and namesake, who, like his father, was a deputy governor of the colony. Young Whipple stands with one arm extended as if to survey the landscape. The family owned extensive property in Middleton, Rhode Island, and this vista may allude to their status as property holders.

Feke borrowed the pose and setting from European prototypes, which were common sources for portraits of the colonial elite. Working primarily in Newport and Boston, Feke was America’s first native-born artist of renown.