Clearly the work of a professional portraitist, these companion portraits are unified by their strong diagonals in the background sail and drapery as well as in the manner that the sitters turn to each other.  When compared with the rather generalized structure of the bodies, the facial features are individualized and convincingly modeled.

Captain Levi F. Doty (1805-1890) and Grace Almira Fish (1804-1872) were married in Falmouth, Massachusetts in 1828.  Captain Doty was an officer in the U.S. Merchant Service.  Both he and his wife are buried in Falmouth's East End Burying Ground (presently home to Falmouth Jewish Congregation, Hatchville).

Upon examining the details of the paintings, one will notice that Captain Doty is writing a note while aboard ship, and Mrs. Doty holds a note as a ship is seen sailing by her window. 

The January 1827 English publication Ladies Pocket Magazine describes Mrs. Doty's dress, "Velvet dresses, either black or crimson, for married ladies at evening parties, increase in favor..."  In addition, long chains securing a watch, locket, cross or scent bottle continued to be mentioned as a fashionable accessory in popular ladies' magazines throughout 1831.

Erastus Salisbury Field is among the most prominent and well-researched of 19th-century American Folk artists. From Leverett, Massachusetts, Field studied briefly with the noted American painter and inventor Samuel F. B. Morse but largely acquired his facility in paint through prolonged self-study.

Outstanding qualities evident in Field's portraits are the ability to capture a true likeness, his superb sense of design, the "aura" of light emanating from behind the figures and his skillful craftsmanship. The Cahoon Museum's Fields almost certainly depict a Connecticut couple, as they bear a striking resemblance to a Glastonbury pair he painted (now in the collection of Old Sturbridge Village) while on tour of the Connecticut River Valley.

While the names of the couple depicted are now unknown, it is evident they are prosperous, middle class individuals. Details such as the magnificent bonnet worn by the woman , her gold chains, broach and earrings hint at her comfortable status while the book she holds in her lap provides a clue as to her literate and cultivated nature. Prominent in her husband’s likeness, the jeweled shirt pin and flamboyant starched collar indicate his social standing while the magnificently detailed songbook, held open in his lap, hints at this status as a choirmaster or musician.

William Matthew Prior, born in Bath, Maine, was a self-taught itinerant portrait and landscape painter.  During the late 1820's and 1830's, Prior traveled all through New England and as far south as Baltimore painting likenesses.  In 1841, he settled in Boston where he established a portrait studio with his brothers-in-law, the Hamblens, who were artists as well.

Prior actually had two styles, one well-drawn and modeled, and the other flat.  While the quality of his likenesses was never compromised, he tailored his work to the purse of his sitters.  In 1831, he advertised in the Maine Inquirer, "Persons wishing for a flat picture can have a likeness without shade or shadow for one-quarter the price."  His portraits ranged in price from one to twenty-five dollars.

This economical "flat" style of portraiture enabled Prior to compete with the booming photography business.  A rare printed label attached to the back of one of Prior's cut-rate likeness demonstrates his response to this new competition from the daguerreotype studios: "PORTRAITS/PAINTED IN THIS STYLE!/Done in about an hour's sitting./Price $2.92 including Frame, Glass, &c./Please call at Trenton Street/East Boston/WM. M. PRIOR."

The subjects are Lucie Blossom Smith and her daughter, Lucie. The portrait was probably painted in Providence, Rhode Island.