Mrs. Benjamin Lynde, Jr.

Robert Feke's portrait of Mary Goodridge is striking in its simplicity. Unadorned except for her velvet dress and lace-trimmed bodice, with her hair loosely tied back, Goodridge exhibits a self-possession befitting the daughter-in-law of Benjamin Lynde, chief justice of Massachusetts, whose portrait by John Smibert hangs to the left. Feke paid close attention to fabrics and accurately conveyed the sheen and softness of velvet. Interest in the visual and tactile qualities of textiles became a characteristic of portraits by Colonial American artists from Feke onward, culminating in the work of John Singleton Copley.

Born in Oyster Bay, Long Island, Feke was the first artist born in British North America to have a significant career in the colony. In the 1740s, Feke began painting after coming into contact with the British-born artist John Smibert.