1818, Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of Rebecca White Pickering -- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond)
From the museum label: The most successful portrait painter of the federal era, Stuart is best known for his iconic images of George Washington. He also became famous for his depictions of upper-class Anglo-American women posed in lushly rendered costumes and settings. This elegant work speaks to both aspects of Stuart's practice and reputation. Rebecca White Pickering was the wife of Colonel Timothy Pickering of Salem, Massachusetts, who was a trusted associate of Washington; a quartermaster general during the Revolutionary War; and a member of the first president's cabinet, serving as secretary of war then secretary of state. Commissioned at the request of the Pickerings' son, this seemingly candid portrait is among Stuart's most incisive and painterly works.
1818, Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of Rebecca White Pickering -- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond)
From the museum label: The most successful portrait painter of the federal era, Stuart is best known for his iconic images of George Washington. He also became famous for his depictions of upper-class Anglo-American women posed in lushly rendered costumes and settings. This elegant work speaks to both aspects of Stuart's practice and reputation. Rebecca White Pickering was the wife of Colonel Timothy Pickering of Salem, Massachusetts, who was a trusted associate of Washington; a quartermaster general during the Revolutionary War; and a member of the first president's cabinet, serving as secretary of war then secretary of state. Commissioned at the request of the Pickerings' son, this seemingly candid portrait is among Stuart's most incisive and painterly works.