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Mrs. William Dudley (Elizabeth Davenport)
John Smibert (American (born in Scotland), 1688–1751)
1729
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
91.76 x 71.44 cm (36 1/8 x 28 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. Brooks Fenno
Accession Number1979.769
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAmericas
ClassificationsPaintings
Smibert had been in the colonies only a few months when the Dudleys commissioned him to paint these portraits in the latest continental style. Such portraits were great luxuries, indicating the Dudley's wealth, ambition, and desire to stay abreast of European trends. The rich, skillfully painted fabrics that drape the sitter demonstrate both this and the painter's sophisticated European training.
ProvenanceThe artist; Mrs. Arthur Bell, Boston, by 1950; Mrs. J. Brooks Fenno, Chestnut Hill, Mass., collateral descendent of the sitter; to MFA, 1979, gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. Brooks Fenno.