Joseph Anthony Jr.

Gilbert Stuart

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A native of Newport, Rhode Island, and Stuart’s first cousin, Joseph Anthony was trained as a silversmith and jeweler, his family business. Anthony moved to Philadelphia about 1783 where his trade thrived, and he married Henrietta Hillegas of that city shortly thereafter. This picture, painted in Stuart’s best English manner, fully captures the confident mood of this substantial craftsman, whose ruddy good looks and careful dress suggest success and happiness.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art