Hulda Martin was originally from Rehoboth, Massachusetts, in the southeastern part of the state. The portraitist, possibly Massachusetts artist Frederick Mayhew, emphasized her gentility by posing the fifty-five-year-old matron with a book. Details of Hulda’s lace, her modest jewelry, and an ornately painted chair enliven this otherwise sober portrait.
Credit Line: Text courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
