Robert “King” Carter Virginia grandee Robert “King” Carter amassed one of the largest estates in the Chesapeake during the early eighteenth century. Carter owned 45 plantations worked by more than 700 slaves who grew tobacco on some of his 30,000 acres of land. Carter matched his economic prowess with political influence, serving in the Virginia House of Burgesses and as governor. His wig hints at his embrace of English fashions while his somewhat plain clothing suggests an understated colonial restraint compared to the lavish outfits worn by wealthy Englishmen.

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution/Art Resource, NY.