James Alexander Simpson taught art classes at GeorgetownCollege and created portraits of the Washington elite. He made this portrait of Rachel Bartholomew Davis in the same year that he painted her husband, Thomas Davis, possibly on the occasion of their marriage. Rachel’s pose mirrors her husband’s, and Simpson painted the two figures so that their paintings might be hung facing one another. Rachel’s curls and rosy cheeks emphasize her youth and innocence as she enters into married life
