Maria Hamilton Beckford (Mrs. William Beckford)

Painted in 1799 by Benjamin West, the portrait of Maria Hamilton Beckford was created during the artist's mature career as a leading history and portrait painter in England. The work descended within the Beckford family, remaining with William Beckford at Fonthill Abbey and Bath, before passing to his daughter Susan Euphemia Beckford, 10th Duchess of Hamilton, who held it at Hamilton Palace in County Lanark, Scotland.

It then descended to William Alexander Louis Stephen Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton. Following his death, the painting was offered at the Hamilton estate sale conducted by Christie, Manson and Woods in London on 6 November 1919, where it was purchased by Tooth Brothers. On 4 February 1920 the London dealers sold it to the American collector Thomas B. Clarke of New York.

After Clarke's death, the portrait was sold in 1936 through M. Knoedler & Co. to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust of Pittsburgh, which in 1947 transferred it as a gift to the National Gallery of Art.

The painting entered the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1947 as a gift from the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust. This transfer followed its acquisition by the Trust in January 1936 from the estate of Thomas B. Clarke, who had purchased the work in February 1920. Prior to Clarke's ownership, the portrait was sold at Christie, Manson and Woods in London on November 6, 1919, as part of the estate sale of the 12th Duke of Hamilton.

While the work was included in a 1928 exhibition of Clarke's collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, no other specific public exhibitions are detailed in the available records. The artwork has remained in the National Gallery of Art since the 1947 donation.