A portrait of Paul Cuffe, perhaps

This painting is said to be of American businessman Paul Cuffe (1759-1817), done by artist Chester Harding (1792-1866). It was sold as such at auction in 2009. However, PaulCuffe.org now says that "Harding is no longer listed as the artist and attribution of Paul Cuffe is in question."

No portrait of Paul Cuffe done in his lifetime is known to exist. As noted in a 2017 story on SouthCoastToday.com, "Like many other devout early Quakers who shunned portraits of themselves, Cuffe never allowed his likeness to be painted during his lifetime."

See our biography of Paul Cuffe