Mrs. Elizabeth Freake and Baby Mary This anonymous 1674 portrait shows Elizabeth Freake, the wife of merchant John Freake, and their eighth child, Mary. Large families helped ensure Puritan expansion and financial success. Here Elizabeth and her daughter capture Puritan simplicity in their white head coverings and aprons. But they display their family’s wealth and John Freake’s commercial ties through their silk gowns and embroidered cloth.
Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts, USA/Bridgeman Images