Mr Richard Barwell and Son

George Perfect Harding about 1780 - 1833

Summary

Double portrait of a middle aged man and a young boy in a study. The man is sat to the centre right with a table to the right edge. The boy is to the left and is holding onto the man's right arm. There is a dog to the far left at the feet of the boy. Bookshelves can be seen behind and to the left of the man. A map is pinned to the centre shelf. There is a curtain hung to the left, behind the father and son. Monochrome. Richard Barwell (1741-1801) was born in Calcutta and was a council member in Bengal under Warren Hastings. As governor general in 1753, he retired with an immense personal fortune and became the MP for St.Ives in 1784 and then Winchelsea in 1790. He published writings on the Bengal establishment of the East India Company of 1756.