Molly Wales Fobes

Rufus Hathaway

1790 · Oil on canvas · The American Wing

Born in Massachusetts, Hathaway worked as an itinerant portrait painter before pursuing a career in medicine. "Lady with Her Pets" is his earliest known work and depicts Molly Wales Fobes of Raynham, Massachusetts. Fashionably dressed, Molly sits in a Chippendale-style chair surrounded by a fantastical array of “pets,” which were likely included as emblems of her beauty, loyalty, and affection. They may also reference her family’s interest in natural history, as her father was a professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy. The flowers decorating her fan and bodice, combined with her French-inspired hairstyle, identify Molly as a refined and worldly woman.

Artist

Rufus Hathaway

Date

1790

Medium

Oil on canvas

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, 1963