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Though this portrait has had the title “Portrait of a Man” since 1942 when it entered the museum’s collection, the <br>sitter was identified by previous owners, including Leo Schidlof and Edward Greene, as a member of the famous Baring banking family, of whom G. C. Williamson mentions several members in his biography of George Engleheart.<br>Thomas Baring (1772–1848) was not elevated to the baronetcy until 1810. Thomas was a member of Parliament, <br>partner in the firm Baring Brothers &amp; Co. from 1804, and chairman of the London and Southwestern Railroad from 1832 to 1833. Baring Brothers &amp; Co. brokered the $15 million Louisiana Purchase in 1802, which doubled the size of the United States and financially refueled Napoleon’s war effort. <br>Thomas wears a dark blue coat with brass buttons, white waistcoat with a high white collar, bow, and frill down the front, all of which was standard attire for British gentlemen at the turn of the century. His hair is worn à l’antique (hair cut short and worn in curls, especially around the forehead), a style sported by men after the turn of the century that evokes the coiffures of statesmen of ancient Rome. The back of the frame contains plaited brown hair. There is a small area of pigment loss located at the lower right edge of the sitter’s coat.