(Massachusetts, born 1731)Portrait of a Distinguished Gentleman, possibly a jurist, wearing a brown velvet coat and gold brocade-trimmed blue velvet waist coat, signed lower left "Junr. Pinxt" (see note), oil on canvas, 46 x 36 in.; modern gilt wood frame, 54-3/4? x 44-5/8 in.Provenance: Sotheby's June 22, 1995, lot 90, accompanied by catalog; Collection of James B. MacNeill, North CarolinaNote: According to the Sotheby's note, this work could also be attributed to Daniel Rea Jr. (born 1743) and states, "Thomas Johnston, Jr., a pioneer painter and japanner, was born in Boston, July 4, 1731. He was the son of Thomas Johnston, the engraver and worked in Boston for his entire professional career. Daniel Rea, Jr. was a painter in Boston from 1768 to 1803. He was a house, ship, and sign painter who also did portraits. He learned his trade from his father-in-law, Thomas Johnston."Literature: George C. Croce and David H. Wallace, [New York Historical Society's Dictionary of Artists in America, 1564-1860], pp. 356, 528.