In the grand Nelson–Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, hangs an unfinished 18th-century portrait by a well-known portraitist of the era, Nathaniel Dance-Holland. The museum's description says the subject wears a “powdered wig,” and his hair does have the long swept-back look of George Washington and other men of the era. It is definitely not white, though, but auburn with wisps of grey. The man's turned head and tentative expression convey a sense of being unsettled, as if he's been interrupted in a private moment. It's quite well done, and realistic, the pink in the cheeks and the nose, the uneven flares of hair.
The figure is set against a rich brown backdrop, expertly shaded to indicate the off-stage light source that illuminates half the subject's angled face. Much of the lower half of the painting, however, is unpainted canvas, a dull beige, the outline of the clothes that would...
