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Inheriting New England's strongest traditions, Abigail Smith was born in 1744 at Weymouth, Massachusetts. On her mother's side, she was descended from the Quincys, a family of great prestige in the colony; her father and other forbearers were Congregational ministers, leaders in a society that held its clergy in high esteem. She married John Adams in 1764. Long separations kept Abigail from her husband while he served as delegate to the Continental Congress, envoy abroad, and elected officer under the Constitution. When John Adams was elected President, she carried out the responsibility of formal entertaining as First Lady. Abigail died in 1818 and is buried beside her husband in United First Parish Church. Six years after her death, her son, John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), became the nation's sixth president.
For decades the artist of this portrait has been unknown and their identity has been debated by scholars, until recently when a signature was uncovered during conservation revealing the artist to be Ralph Earl. Earl did many of these portraits while in debtor’s prison, with his sitters actually having to visit him in jail.
Exhibition HistoryExhibited at the White House, Washington, DC, September 1962 – February 1977.
“The Eye of Thomas Jefferson,” National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, June 3, 1976 – September 6, 1976.
“First Federal Congress,” National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, March 2, 1989 – August 18, 1989.
“American Treasures from the Fenimore Art Museum,” Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, FL, February 20 – April 11, 2004.
“Art and the White House: Presidential Selections 1960-2000,” Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR, November 14, 2004 – January 23, 2005.
“A Will of Their Own: Judith Murray & Women of Achievement in the Early Republic,” Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, April 20, 2012 – September 2, 2013.
“Thomas Cole to Grandma Moses: American Masters,” Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, March 30 – June 2, 2013.
“Hamilton's Final Act: Enemies and Allies,” Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown NY, April 1 – December 31, 2018.
"The Schulyer Sisters and Their Inner Circle," Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany, NY, July 20. 2019 – December 29, 2019.
“Every Eye is Upon Me: America’s First Ladies,” National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, November 13, 2020 – May 23, 2021.
BibliographyGwendolyn DuBois Shaw, First Ladies of the United States (exh. cat. Washington D.C.: National Portrait Gallery, 2020), pp. 48, 49, ill.
Artist
Ralph Earl
(1751 - 1801)
Related Person
Abigail Adams
(1744 - 1818)
Abigail Adams
Datec. 1795
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsSight: 29 5/8 × 24 7/8 in. (75.2 × 63.2 cm)
Object numberN0150.1955
Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Bequest from the Estate of Francis J. Eggleston
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextFirst Lady Abigail Adams (1744-1818) was the wife of President John Adams and the mother of President John Quincy Adams. Abigail supported her husband during his term as the country's first Vice President and later, during his presidency as First Lady. She is remembered for the dignity and tact with which she carried out these roles. Inheriting New England's strongest traditions, Abigail Smith was born in 1744 at Weymouth, Massachusetts. On her mother's side, she was descended from the Quincys, a family of great prestige in the colony; her father and other forbearers were Congregational ministers, leaders in a society that held its clergy in high esteem. She married John Adams in 1764. Long separations kept Abigail from her husband while he served as delegate to the Continental Congress, envoy abroad, and elected officer under the Constitution. When John Adams was elected President, she carried out the responsibility of formal entertaining as First Lady. Abigail died in 1818 and is buried beside her husband in United First Parish Church. Six years after her death, her son, John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), became the nation's sixth president.
For decades the artist of this portrait has been unknown and their identity has been debated by scholars, until recently when a signature was uncovered during conservation revealing the artist to be Ralph Earl. Earl did many of these portraits while in debtor’s prison, with his sitters actually having to visit him in jail.
Exhibition HistoryExhibited at the White House, Washington, DC, September 1962 – February 1977.
“The Eye of Thomas Jefferson,” National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, June 3, 1976 – September 6, 1976.
“First Federal Congress,” National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, March 2, 1989 – August 18, 1989.
“American Treasures from the Fenimore Art Museum,” Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, FL, February 20 – April 11, 2004.
“Art and the White House: Presidential Selections 1960-2000,” Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR, November 14, 2004 – January 23, 2005.
“A Will of Their Own: Judith Murray & Women of Achievement in the Early Republic,” Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, April 20, 2012 – September 2, 2013.
“Thomas Cole to Grandma Moses: American Masters,” Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, March 30 – June 2, 2013.
“Hamilton's Final Act: Enemies and Allies,” Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown NY, April 1 – December 31, 2018.
"The Schulyer Sisters and Their Inner Circle," Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany, NY, July 20. 2019 – December 29, 2019.
“Every Eye is Upon Me: America’s First Ladies,” National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, November 13, 2020 – May 23, 2021.
BibliographyGwendolyn DuBois Shaw, First Ladies of the United States (exh. cat. Washington D.C.: National Portrait Gallery, 2020), pp. 48, 49, ill.
On View
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