Mrs. George Catlin (Clara Bartlett Gregory)

Clara Bartlett Gregory (1807-1845) met and married George Catlin in her hometown of Albany, New York, while he was there to paint Governor De Witt Clinton. It is likely that this miniature was painted during their courtship or just after their marriage in 1828. Despite her frail health, she accompanied her husband on one of his five journeys west and supported his efforts to capture the likenesses of Native Americans. She and their youngest son died while visiting Paris in 1845, a loss that devastated the artist.