Despite the centuries of privilege and prominence associated with having one’s portrait painted, you can all but hear Mrs. Yates ask Gilbert Stuart, “Really? You again?”

Americans have never been known for our elegance, especially when it comes to art. Just look at the awkward and stiff early portraits by John Trumbull and Thomas Sully. It should come as no surprise that, even with the prowess that he developed in Europe, Stuart’s dignified portraiture went over Americans’ heads. It might look like Mrs. Yates is coyly posing with some personal objects, but her face says it all – she is over it. Coupled with her bored expression, Mrs. Yates is also working on some sewing so that sitting for Stuart’s portrait does not waste her precious time. Although her sewing may represent the work ethic and high moral standards associated with early American society, it's also a little rude. 

Stuart painted more than one thousand portraits over his entire career. However, his paintings of Europeans and Americans are vastly different. Painfully literal, Americans were more interested in having Stuart paint them accurately, rather than flatteringly. This explains the serious and dismissive looks that both Mrs. Yates and her husband, Richard Yates, offer us.

Seated at his desk with a pile of papers, Mr. Yates similarly deigns to take a break from his work to pose for a portrait that he probably paid a lot of money for. He and his illustrious family members ran a trading company called Yates & Pollock that dealt and imported European and West Indian goods. The Yates family was well-to-do enough to be a part of Stuart’s overarching scheme for fame and fortune. In quite the feat of social-climbing upon his return to the United States, Stuart painted his way through the upper echelons of American society, ultimately reaching his goal of gaining entrée to George Washington’s realm. 

Even with the sour puss looks, the Yates portraits ultimately accomplished their goals. Years later, these portraits continued to bring Stuart notoriety. After its first public exhibition in 1922, critics compared this painting to the arresting portraits of such titans as Diego Velázquez and James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Perhaps these compliments would’ve made Mrs. Yates crack a smile.