Catherina Elmendorf

Unknown Artist

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Catherina Elmendorf (b. 1747) was a daughter of Petrus Edmundus Elmendorf (1715–1765) and Mary Crooke (b. 1721) of Kingston, New York. The artist, who remains unidentified, carefully delineated key aspects of the sitter’s clothing and surroundings. Pinned to Catherina’s bodice is an intricate lace stomacher, and she holds a red carnation in her left hand. Her right hand is cupped upward in a gesture of receiving.

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