John Eld of Seighford Hall, Stafford

This painting emphasizes both Eld's self-confidence and his devotion to charity, an important characteristic for a gentleman of sensibility in the eighteenth century. Eld was a benefactor of the Staffordshire General Infirmary and holds plans for the new hospital. The inscription on the base of the pedestal indicates that the portrait was commissioned in honor of the sitter, presumably to mark the hospital's opening. Nearly one hundred subscribers contributed to the cost of the painting, and Eld himself made up the difference. The portrait hung in the hospital's boardroom until 1909.