Artwork
Mrs. John Puget (Catherine Hawkins)
Mrs. John Puget (Catherine Hawkins) is an oil painting. It dates from 1787 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This portrait depicts Mrs.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Her attire and composed pose signal social standing, while the intimate scale of the oil on copper panel underscores a private, rather than public, commission.
The portrait presents a woman identified as Mrs. John Puget, thought to be Catherine Hawkins, embodying the refined domestic virtue prized among late‑18th‑century elite families. Her attire and composed pose signal social standing, while the intimate scale of the oil on copper panel underscores a private, rather than public, commission. The work’s provenance through Mary Emma Stillman Harkness highlights its transmission within American collecting circles, reinforcing its role as a marker of cultural capital.
Iconographically, the piece aligns with contemporary portrait conventions that emphasized familial honor and moral propriety, suggesting the sitter’s embodiment of genteel femininity and familial legacy.
Technique & Style
The portrait of Mrs. John Puget (Catherine Hawkins) is executed in oil paint on a copper support, a technique well suited to the precise, enamel-like finish characteristic of small-scale cabinet portraits of the late eighteenth century. The copper panel, measuring 15.2 cm in height by 12.1 cm in width, provides a smooth, rigid ground that permits fine detail and a luminous surface. The work is classified as a painting within the portrait genre and is attributed to Richard Gainsborough Dupont.
Dated 1787, the modest dimensions and refined handling are consistent with the intimate format favored for private likenesses of the period.
History & Provenance
The portrait of Mrs. John Puget (Catherine Hawkins) was created in 1787, executed in oil on copper, and is attributed to Richard Gainsborough Dupont. The earliest documented provenance traces to Mary Emma Stillman Harkness, who owned the work before it entered the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is currently held. No details regarding the original commission, the circumstances of its creation, or intermediate owners between the artist and Harkness are recorded in the available sources.
Mrs. John Puget (Catherine Hawkins) is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The painting entered the museum’s collection through the bequest of Mary Emma Stillman Harkness, who owned the work before its acquisition. It is catalogued as a portrait painted in 1787 on copper, attributed to Richard Gainsborough Dupont.
The museum’s records do not include an explicit inventory or accession number for the piece, and no exhibition history is documented in the available sources.
Overview
This portrait depicts Mrs. John Puget, identified as Catherine Hawkins, rendered as a painting on copper. The subject is presented with a soft smile, her face framed by a voluminous blonde wig. She wears a simple necklace and a light-colored dress featuring a ruffled collar.
The composition places emphasis on her likeness, set against a plain, dark background that draws attention to her features.
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