The Gloves

The knitted black mitts Mrs Devereux wears were often worn by women of the 18th century to keep the skin white and the hands warm.

The Bonnet

Mrs Ebanezer Storer (Mary Edwards), ca.1767–69,Pastel on paper mounted on canvas; Gift of Thomas J. Watson, 1940 (40.161.2). ©The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Mrs Devereux wears a white bonnet - a simple 'mobcap'. This is a plain cotton or linen cap with ruffled edges which was popular in the United States during the 18th century. Worn by women and girls both inside an outside.

This type of cap was worn by a number of Copleys' sitters such as in his portrait of Mrs Ebanezer Storer.

The Pose

The pose of Mrs Devereux with her head resting on her hand suggests contemplation and thoughtfulness. This is a pose which Copley had used before and was one in which he would return to frequently with future paintings. In particular, with portraits of his younger female sitters. (eg.Dorothy Quincy (Mrs. John Hancock) about 1772, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Mrs. Richard Skinner (Dorothy Wendell), 1772, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston).

Clothing

Plain and dark coloured satins such as those worn by Mrs Devereux in this portrait were appropriate wear for middle -aged and elderly women - the fabric was expensive and would have been considered old fashioned by the 1760s.

The tones of Mrs Devereux' fabric demonstrate Copley's ability at illustrating light and dark contrasts.

Table

The device of seating Mrs Devereux at a gate leg table is one which was used by Copley on a number of portraits along with the depiction of the reflection on the highly polished wooden table top. (eg: the portrait of Mrs. Richard Skinner (Dorothy Wendell), 1772, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston).

Who was Mrs Devereux?

Mrs Humphrey Devereux was the mother of the artist and art dealer, John Greenwood who had emigrated to

John GREENWOOD, The Seven Sisters of Tottenham, 1790, oil on canvas.  Gift of the Greenwood Family.Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Collection.

England in 1752. Realising that he would probably never return to America, Greenwood commissioned his friend Copley to paint a portrait of his mother on the occasion of her 60th birthday which was to be sent to him in England.

By the time this portrait had been painted, Mary Devereux had been married three times. First in 1726 to Samuel Greenwood, a Boston merchant who died in 1742, then to Joseph Prince in 1757, a Boston sea captain who had been her first husband's business partner and in 1762 to Humphrey Devereux a farmer who died in 1777. Mary died aged 84 in 1795.