Portrait of a Woman with a Bowl of Cherries

The cherries, associated with fertility, suggest that this is a marriage portrait, and the elegant lace-trimmed dress reinforces the matrimonial associations. This work bears a strong resemblance to the portraits of Dutch landowners, known as patroons, who colonized the Hudson River Valley. The background's lively repeated arc pattern is distinctive but perplexing: is it a hilly landscape, wallpaper in a dark interior, or something else?