John Singleton Copley

Sarah Prince Gill was the daughter of Reverend Thomas Prince, the rector of Old South Church, Boston. Well-educated and committed to a life of Christian piety, she believed in personal and political independence and initially resisted marriage as a state in which “Men’s [brains] increase in Proportion to the Decrease of the Women’s.” Six years older than her spouse, she accepted Moses Gill’s proposal reluctantly, believing God wanted her to assume the responsibilities of a household.

Copley portrayed Rebecca in a wooded landscape, a setting that acknowledges her contemplative personality and complements the handsome interior in which her husband is presented, seen at left.