Oil on canvas, bust length portrait of a seated young man holding book, unsigned, presented in a period gilt frame, frame verso with label reading "Benj. Thompson / 1822-1852," with pencil inscription "Benjamin Thompson / painted about 1843."

Frame dimensions 34 5/8 x 29 3/4 in.

Benjamin Thompson, Jr. (1822-1852) was the son of Benjamin and Margaret Thompson. His father was a railroad conductor, but Benjamin chose to join the US Navy in 1842. He married Harriet Tucker in Marblehead, Massachusetts in 1845.
Benjamin died at the age of thirty after being injured by the cars along the railroad.

Some scattered small areas of later paint visible under UV light; some gilt loss to frame.