This unsigned painting depicts a young Dorothy Quincy (1709–1762) of Braintree, Massachusetts. It dates to about 1720 and is likely the work of an American artist. It was bequeathed to the MHS by Quincy’s great-great-grandson, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., in 1936.
In 1871, Dorothy Quincy’s great-grandson, physician and poet, Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809–1894), penned Dorothy Q. an ode to this portrait, containing musings on the young girl’s life and his connection to her through time.
Read more about Dorothy’s family and her life. Read the full text of “Dorothy Q.: A Family Portrait.”
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