Unidentified Man in Uniform

Formerly in the collection of historical portraits compiled by John Frederick Lewis, this pastel was attributed to James Sharples, the elder, by Lewis. Although late-18th-century in style and still mounted on its original stretcher within a period frame, the drawing does not resemble Sharples' work in either scale (being much larger than his usual portrait drawings) or handling, if the undisputed Sharples pastels in the collection of Independence National Historic Park are used as standards for comparison. However, the many hands and diverse quality of portraits attributed to Sharples and his family makes more positive identification difficult. The man's continental army uniform and wig style would date the subject to the period of the Revolutionary War, though about 1790 - prior to the arrival of the Sharples family from England in 1796. However, the pastel may well be a copy made from another source some time after this uniform became obsolete.