2-999-979 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Mrs. Joseph Anthony (Henrietta Hillegas), 1794. The sitter is the wife of Joseph Anthony, Jr., Gilbert Stuart's first cousin, who trained as a silversmith, and subsequently opened a business in Philadelphia, eventually making the transition from craftsman to entrepreneur. On December 29 1785, he married Henrietta Hillegas (1766-1812). A Philadelphia native, she was the daughter of Michael Hillegas, the first treasurer of the United States. One of a pair of miniatures, perhaps made to celebrate the couple's betrothal. This and the portrait of her husband are both after oils by Stuart. Stuart worked closely with the miniaturists Walter Robinson and Benjamin Trott, both of whom painted miniatures after Stuart's portraits in oils. It is possible that this miniature is by one of these men.