English School, 19th Century

Portrait of an East Suffolk Militiaman

Watercolor and gouache 

circa 1810

Initialed DT to lower left; paper label affixed to verso titled and inscribed Hand Painted by / Dorothy Turfoil / Exh Paris & USA

2 1/2 x 3 in., framed to 4 1/4 x 5 in. 

The East Suffolk Militia was one of two auxiliary military regiments originally formed in 1759 in Suffolk under threat of French invasion during the Seven Years' War. Called out during both the American and French Revolutionary Wars for garrisoning, the unit was most heavily utilized during the first quarter of the nineteenth century. The East Suffolks' internal defense duties continued  during the Napoleonic Wars, but their focus shifted to front of line duties and overseas garrisoning in France and Ireland during the early 1810s. By 1853, the regiment was converted to artillery and continued in that role until its disbandment in 1909.

[Art, Fine Art, Portrait Miniature, Paintings, 19th Century]