Women With Baskets – 1801

The woman on the left wears a white, empire waist dress with short sleeves and ankle-length skirts. Her sleeves are banded with pale pink above the elbow and she wears a pink and white striped kerchief around her shoulders and tucked under the long, white apron. She wears a white bonnet or mobcap with a pale blue ribbon at the crown and a lacy brim. She has small gold earrings, white stockings, and flat, pointed black shoes. In her left hand she carries a small wicker basket. She wears long, pale blue gloves.

Her companion wears a black, empire waist dress with elbow-length sleeves. She has a bright yellow and red kerchief wrapped around her shoulders in the same fashion as the other woman. She wears white stockings and flat, black shoes. Her bonnet is white and has a pleated brim that stands up like a diadem. She wears small gold earrings and carries a woven basket, partially covered with a large, green and white patterned shawl or cloth, in the crook of her left arm. The two women stand on cobblestones.

Written in pencil in the lower left-hand corner is “1801.”

Credit: The Claremont Colleges