What did James Wolfe look like?
"General Wolfe was 5 feet 11 or six in height, very straight, his air and carriage perfectly military, his action free, his gestures open as those of an actor who feels no constraint, - his hair red, generally worn in a queue, his face a long oval, his complexion very fair and much freckled - his eyes were light, I think, gray, and his mouth large, his nose, tho long, was large and open. Yet tho this assemblage of feature may not appear favorable there was a certain animation in the countenance and spirit in his manner that solicited attention & interested most people in his favor." (As might be found in the Hamilton manuscript as quoted by McLennan in his Louisbourg, Appendix I, p. 315.)Wolfe's biographers and family connections acknowledge but two authentic oil paintings and Smith's sketch. Of the authentic oil paintings, there is the one by Highmore which hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, done at age 22; and the other by an unknown artist, taken at age 13.
And, so, here is the clickable list of the portraits:
For a short sketch -- see James Wolfe, The Hero Of Louisbourg.
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