Mrs. William Mather Smith (Helen Livingston)

Helen Livingston was born in 1789 and at the age of nineteen married William Mather Smith, with whom she had three sons. On August 17, 1807, Helen was a passenger on the maiden voyage of the Clermont, the first American steamboat to travel the Hudson River. This painting shows the elegant lady at thirty-two, wearing an extravagant bonnet, ruffle, and shawl. The miniature of William Mather Smith is also in this collection.