Dr. William Foster
Joseph Badger·1755
Historical Context
Badger's portrait of Dr. William Foster, painted in 1755, depicts another member of the Foster family — likely the captain's relative — and demonstrates the complete documentation of a colonial American family through matching portraits. As a physician in colonial Boston, Dr. Foster occupied a position of social respect that merited a painted likeness. Badger's straightforward, honest style was well-suited to portraying the professional class of pre-Revolutionary New England.
Technical Analysis
Badger's oil-on-canvas technique creates a solid, if formally limited, portrait with direct characterization. The doctor's features are rendered with careful observation, while the dark costume against a neutral background focuses attention on the sitter's face.
Provenance
Mrs. Philip Peck, Walpole, New Hampshire;[1] Dr. Thomas Bellows Buffum, Walpole, New Hampshire;[2] Annie Buffum Williams [Mrs. Nathan W. Williams], Northampton, Massachusetts, 1943.[3] Purchased before 16 May 1949 by Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch;[4] gift 1957 to NGA. [1] Augustus Thorndike Perkins, _A Sketch of the Life and a List of Some of Works of John Singleton Copley_, Boston, 1873, 125-126, repeated by Frank W. Bayley, _The Life and Works of John Singleton Copley_, Boston 1915, 109. [2] Lawrence Park, _Joseph Badger (1708-1765), And a Descriptive List of some of his Works_, Boston, 1918, 16; Historical Records Survey 1942, 9. [3] Letter from Mrs. Williams to the Frick Art Reference Library, 28 November 1943. [4] A treatment report (in NGA curatorial files) made for the Garbisches by conservators Sheldon and Caroline Keck notes that the Kecks received the painting on 16 May 1949.
