Miniature Portrait, Martha Washington, 1801

This miniature portrait of Martha Washington was painted by Joseph Field in 1801, after her husband’s death and not long before Martha’s own. One visitor to Mount Vernon in 1801 deemed it a “striking likeness.” Although the image of Martha Washington as a matronly figure in a lacy cap has become almost a cliché in popular imagination, Martha’s dress in her final years apparently was similar to that portrayed here, including the laced cap (image courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies' Association).

Robert Field

Mount Vernon

1801

eng

miniature portrait