DescriptionThe sitter in this portrait is probably Molly Wales Fobes (1772–1801), the daughter of Prudence Wales and the Rev. Peres Fobes of Raynham, Massachusetts. The occasion for this richly symbolic image was her engagement to the Rev. Elijah Leonard (1760–1834), minister of the Second Congregational Church in Marshfield, whom she married on May 13, 1792. The painting is one of the best known examples of American folk art, yet the sitter reflects provincial attempts to echo European styles; her "herisson," or hedgehog style coiffure, and the almost emblematic arrangements of her pets mimic contemporary French fashion and portraiture, which Hathaway could have known through prints. It is Hathaway's earliest known work and retains its original marbelized frame.

Signatures, Inscriptions, and MarkingsSignature: [at lower right]: RH / Octr / 1790
Inscriptions: [at lower left]: Canter

ProvenanceMarion Raymond Gunn, Newton, Massachusetts, by 1957; her estate; with Vose Galleries, Boston, as agents, 1958; with Mary Allis, Fairfield, Connecticut and Winsor White, Duxbury, Massachusetts, 1958; Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Cambridge, Maryland, 1958 –1963