Christopher Butson, Dean of Waterford

While in Ireland, Gilbert Stuart painted this portrait of Christopher Butson (1750-1836) who, at the time of the portrait, was Dean of Waterford in Ireland. He had left England for Ireland in 1784, one of many English clerics who found employment in the Church of Ireland. He is recorded as being the bishop of Clofert from 1804 to 1836, and the Bishop of the United Diocese of Killaloe, Kilfenora, Clonfert and Kilmacduagh from 1834 to1836. He was, like Stuart, a regular on the Dublin social circuit. Like so many of Stuart's portraits what commands the viewer's attention is his handling of paint, as well as his ability to capture the essence of the sitter. A true likeness, both in physical attributions and in rendering the very spirit of his subject were hallmarks of his work.