John James Bakker

By descent in the sitter's family;

From whom acquired by the father of the present owner.

This work has traditionally been identified as a portrait of Samuel Shute (1662–1742), an English colonial governor and army officer. After serving in the Nine Years' War and the War of Spanish Succession, in 1716 he was appointed by King George I (1660–1727) as governor of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. His tenure lasted seven years and was marked by virulent disagreements with the Massachusetts assembly and native Abenaki Indians which ultimately led to the Drummer's War (1722–25). He returned to England in 1723 and died on 15 April 1742 while living in Westminster, probably unmarried, for his will left several hundred pounds to nephews, nieces, a sister and to several church charities, without mention of a wife or children.