Hannah Maley (Mrs. Johannes Cornelis) Cuyler (b. 1769)
Unidentified Artist
Date:
c. 1790
Medium:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
26 1/8 H x 20 5/8 W
Credit:
Albany Institute of History & Art Purchase
Accession Number:
1944.6
Comments:
This woman is evidently proud of her possessions. The head is turned to show her earrings, while her fingers are positioned in such a manner as to show her ring more clearly, and the minature portrait, usually worn inside the dress, is prominantly displayed on the outside of her dress. She also wears a chatelaine, a device worn by women to hold keys or trinkets. Her pincushion, fan, and purse are noticeably placed on the top of the cloth-draped dressing table. The other room furnishings—such as the painted floor cloth or carpet, window curtains, and the country Chippendale style chair—reveal how some Albany houses were furnished in the late eighteenth century.
