Portrait of Jerusha Benedict (Mrs. Isaac Ives)
Ralph Earl (1751–1801)
Danbury, Connecticut; 1790
Oil on canvas
Bequest of Pamela Cunningham Copeland 2001.0049a
Jerusha Benedict’s silk dress, jewelry, and other adornments demonstrate the connections between rural Connecticut and global trade. The feathers in her hat (possibly ostrich from Africa) and the jeweled ornaments (likely imported) in her powdered hair and hanging from a cord around her neck all make use of materials acquired in the global market.