Mrs. Andrew Sigourney

Mrs. Andrew Sigourney

Gilbert Stuart

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Elizabeth Williams (1765–1843) was the eldest daughter of Elizabeth Bell and Henry Howell Williams. In 1797, she married Andrew Sigourney, a prominent Bostonian. Over the course of his life, Sigourney served as treasurer of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, treasurer of the town of Boston, and representative in the Massachusetts state legislature. Here, Stuart has toned down the almost sensual quality he lent many female sitters in order to emphasize Mrs. Sigourney’s knowing intelligence and prosperity.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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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.