Portrait of Sarah Allen, née Sargent, c. 1763, John Singleton Copley, American, 1738-1815, 49 1/2 x 40 in. (125.73 x 101.6 cm) (canvas), Oil on canvas, United States, 18th century, Nathaniel Allen was a member of the new wealthy class in the mercantile and shipping business in Boston, and his wife, Sarah, was 34 at the time this work was painted. When commissioning portraits, successful American colonists wished to be portrayed in the manner of European aristocrats. This was accomplished by copying contemporary English portraits of ladies and gentlemen of fashion. Here, Copley adapted his composition from a mezzotint after William Hogarth's painting of Frances, Lady Byron.