John Eardley Wilmot (1709-92) 1812 (oil on canvas)

Sir John Eardley Wilmot PC (Derby, England, 16 August 1709 – London, 5 February 1792), was an English judge, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas from 1766 to 1771 painting in background is 'Allegory of Britannia Receiving the American Loyalists' c.1783-88 by Benjamin West; loyalists before a table upon which rests the crown of England, welcoming them is John Eardley Wilmot; figures with cloak represent religion and justice; group of refugees are William Franklin and Sir William Pepperrell; Published in 1815, the "Historical view of the Commission for Enquiring into the Losses, Services and Claims of the American Loyalists at the close of the war between Great Britain and her colonies in 1783", contained an engraving of West’s allegorical painting "The Reception of the American Loyalists by Great Britain". West’s original oil painting has been lost; however, a smaller copy of the painting can be seen in the background of this portrait of John Eardley Wilmot, the chief commissioner of the Loyalist Claims Commission.