Mather Brown, a descendant of Cotton Mather, was born in Boston and first studied under the painter Gilbert Stuart. He traveled to London in 1781 and worked in the studio of Benjamin West. Although he painted some large, acclaimed "historical" pictures, he worked chiefly with portraiture. Among his patrons were John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, as well as George IV when he was still Prince of Wales. His paintings are exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the National Gallery (Washington D. C.), the National Portrait Gallery (London) and several smaller museums. Around 1800 his work became uneven and diminished in quality; for want of work he died destitute.