Emily Smiley Snowden

About this artwork

No documentation exists regarding Charles Peale Polk’s commission to paint Emily Smiley Snowden. But it is possible to guess at her social and economic position from the imported silk of her dress, her hand-painted fan, embroidered shawl, and Chippendale chair.

Art Historical Context

In the early years of the United States, portraits by artists such as Charles Peale Polk served to fix the social position of merchant families within the new republic. Painted in 1793, this likeness of Emily Smiley Snowden records a woman whose clothing and accessories spoke of access to imported goods and the means to commission a professional painter. Polk sets the figure against a heavy crimson curtain that throws the pale shawl and dark dress into relief, while the lowered fan in her hands creates a quiet center of attention. The slight turn of the body and the steady placement of the arms suggest composure without stiffness, a balance that keeps the portrait from feeling purely formal. The painting belongs to the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Look at the narrow gold tracery along the fan’s outer edge, where the small repeated motifs reward a close look by showing how even a handheld object could carry the same level of finish as the larger composition.