I possess a partiality for irregular houses, when you go up and down steps, out of one room into another and when you come upon more rooms when you think you have seen all there are, and where then is a bountiful provision of little halls & passages, and where you find older rooms in unexpected places with lattice windows and green growth pressing through them.
William Henry Seward by John Phillips
c. 1856
Oil painting on canvas, painted by Scottish-born painter John Philip, commissioned by George Washington Patterson, Lt. Governor and Congressman of NY and friend of Seward. John Philip (1817-1867) was a Victorian era Scottish painter best known for his portrayals of Spanish life.
