Portrait of Mary Margaret Deuel, circa 1829

Mary Margaret Deuel was the daughter of Catharine and Samuel Deuel of Dutchess County, New York. This portrait, painted in Dover Plains, New York, features a young Mary holding strawberries and donning red shoes. Her arresting blue eyes engage the viewer and her ruddy cheeks are flushed and full of life. Phillips skillfully offsets these features with vibrant reds and greens present in her coral necklace, shoes, the ripe berries, the carpeted floor and the upholstered stool.
The painting descended from the sitter in the Deuel family until 1982, when it was purchased by the present owner.