Margaret Cocks, later Margaret Smith

Margaret Cock's pose and wistful gaze suggest that her thoughts are far away. Various clues construct a possible narrative in which she has just finished reading a letter from her older sister, Mary, the subject of the miniature portrait resting in Margaret's lap, whose absence she clearly feels. This painting documents two of the principal means by which friendships were sustained in the 18th century. The exchange of letters helped people keep abreast of each other's lives, while portraiture provided visual surrogates for missing friends and family.