Oil on canvas; 73.4 x 59.7 cm (28 7/8 x 23 1/2 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
Although the cap and shawl are from the period of 1815 when the painting was completed, Abigail’s face is from 1800, when Stuart began the dual paintings of her and John Adams.
Despite deceptive appearances, the British were far from luxuriating in Philadelphia while Washington and his army suffered at Valley Forge. Every public building was used to house two thousand sick and wounded British and Hessian soldiers. The army was placed on half-rations, and there was a shortage of medical and hospital supplies that caused tension between the British and the Hessians. Unable to obtain supplies, the city became a prison for as many as fifty thousand inhabitants and troops.