Sewall (1652–1730) was among the leading jurists of Massachusetts, serving as chief justice of the Superior Court in the 1720s. Earlier in his career, Sewall presided over the 1692 Salem witch trials (and was the only one of the three judges to publicly recant his role in that event). Today, he is perhaps best known for his copious diary, which provides much critical information about personalities and events of the time. Smibert's portrait captures Sewall just months before his death, dressed in the sober colors befitting a judge and wearing the long, lacy tie that often appears in the artist's portraits of elderly men.

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