Ann Britton Cook

Painted late in his career, James Peale's portrait of Ann Britton Cook is done in a softer, more painterly style than his earlier work such as William Flintham (1805) and A Girl Holding a Doll (1804). Peale used similar elements in the portraits of Cook and Flintham-the leather-covered furniture and a plain background with a red curtain-but in portraying Cook, he focused more on the contrast of light and dark, giving her a fully developed physical presence. The attention to detail characteristic of Peale's style is evident in his treatment of Cook's lace collar and her elaborate coiffure.

Ann Britton married John Cook on April 21, 1801, and the couple settled on the eastern shore of Maryland. James Peale painted other members of the Britton and Cook families, including Ann's husband, John, and her sister, Mary.