Explore the Painting of this artwork.
John Singleton Copley is often regarded as the best portraitist in the American colonies. He received many commissions, among them this commission by Theodore Atkinson Jr. Copley painted this portrait of Frances Deering Wentworth when she was 19 years old, and two years after her marriage to Theodore Atkinson Jr. In the painting she is dressed in the height of fashion with her tight bodice of grey-blue satin. She wears a pearl choker, which accents the tiny pearls woven into her hair. One hand grips the edge of the table while the other hand holds the gold chained leash to her pet flying squirrel. In colonial America the flying squirrel was kept as a domesticated pet by the elite. The placement of the flying squirrel in the young wife's portrait highlights her role as wife and colonist.
colonial America flying squirrel America Deering John Singleton Copley