Little is known of the sitter in this charming portrait, except that the surname Willement suggests a family of Huguenot origin. Further, a reproduction of this picture in the archives of the Witt Library confirms that Henry Willement died in 1798 at the age of 33.If he is perhaps some 8 years of age in this picture, that would give us a date of around 1760 for the execution of this portrait.

We are grateful to David Moore-Gwyn, senior consultant at Sotheby’s London for his confirmation of the attribution to Kettle.