Alexander Spotswood

An elegantly dressed Alexander Spotswood, the lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1710 to 1722, holds a scroll in his left hand; in the distance is a fortified castle. This 1736 painting has been attributed to the English immigrant artist Charles Bridges, the first documented painter to live and work in Virginia and to produce work of good quality. William Byrd II, one of the wealthiest planters in Virginia, recommended Bridges's work to Spotswood in a letter dated December 30, 1735.