Hartford Family
Completely at home in their elegant drawing room, this elite family in Hartford, Connecticut, enjoys the fruits of the father’s business success. As the father lounges in his silk robe, his eldest son (and presumptive heir) adopts an air of studied nonchalance, and his daughter fingers a piano, signaling her musical accomplishments and the family’s gentility. A diminutive African American servant (her size suggesting her status) serves fruit to the lavishly attired woman of the house. The sumptuously appointed drawing room reflects the owners’ prosperity and their aesthetic and cultural interests. © White House Historical Association/Photo by National Geographic Society.