Nothing is known about the identity of the sitters and little is known with certainty about the history of the painting, although the donor stated that it was painted in New York State. The style of the apparel worn by the sitters indicates a date in the late 1840s.
The patrons of the itinerant portraitists of the period insisted on realistic likenesses. The artist of this portrait paid relatively little attention to detail in the softly painted clothing and furniture but concentrated on the strikingly more plastic and fully developed physiognomies. Although a close family resemblance marks the sitters, each is described as a distinct individual.
In most American primitive portraits the subjects are arranged across the picture plane, side by side. The vertical arrangement of this painting is unusual, as is the unconventional position of the boy standing on the sofa. His position is used in an interesting way to achieve a characterization of the psychological relationships within the family Whereas his sister is enfolded within the protecting arm of the mother, the boy stands independently, higher than the mother and apparently self-sufficient, as he leans comfortably on her shoulder. It is conceivable that the boy’s likeness is a memorial portrait.
