John Singleton Copley (American, 1738-1815) Portrait of Sea Captain Richard Fanning (1774-1800), Oil on Canvas laid down to masonite, 24" x 20", in the period gilded and gesso cast exhibition frame, with nameplate, Overall measures 28 3/4" x 24".This portrait of Captain Fanning was done in London in 1796 by Copley. Richard Fanning was lost at sea while master of a merchant ship, 18 March 1800 at age 26. The portrait hung in the sitting room of the Howell House in Westhampton Beach, Long Island, New York. The painting is accompanied by a black and white photo, circa 1900, of the painting in the Howell House, and with an additional typed letter signed by Clement Conger, Department of State, Chairman-Fine Arts Committee, dated Oct. 26, 1973. The painting is published and illustrated in the 1905 History of the Fanning Family, Genealogical Record. Provenance: Mortimore Howell Cobb, Palm Beach, Florida (1904-1986), the oldest living survivor of the Titanic,Sold for the Trust of June C. Underhill-Cobb, Lantana, Florida. This is a rare painting of an ancestor to the Howell and Cobb families. This painting has been in the possession of the Howell and Cobb family for over 200 years. The painting has scattered crazing and craquelure with old in-painting. Probably restored over 100 years ago. The frame has chips and some losses to gesso. Will need conservation. Provenance: Mortimore Howell Cobb, Palm Beach, Florida (1904-1986), the oldest living survivor of the Titanic, Sold for the Trust of June C. Underhill-Cobb, Atlantis, Florida.