Rebeckah Barrett (76.83)

Oil on canvas three-quarter length portrait of Rebeckah Barrett (1757-1765) by Joseph Badger. She is standing, turned slightly right, holding a bird on her finger. She wears a low-necked short-sleeved dress of dark bluish-green silk with a tight fitting bodice and full skirts, with a narrow white ruffle at the neck. Her brown hair is pulled back, drawn away from her face which bears a wistful expression. The background is somber with sparse foliage and rocky landscape.

Provenance Narrative Rebeckah Barrett was the daughter of Deacon Samuel Barrett and Mary Shedd Barrett of Boston. She was born on September 27, 1757 and died at age eight on April 5, 1765. Rebeckah was one of eleven children. Her father was a sailmaker and a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. He was deacon of the New North Church and later became a judge of the court of common pleas for Suffolk County.

Rebeckah was painted by Joseph Badger, a house painter and glazier who worked as a limner in Boston from 1740 until his death in 1765. The bird on her finger could be a symbol of the transiency of life, although Badger frequently portrayed his youthful subjects with a bird or squirrel.

Place Made United States MASSACHUSETTS Boston