Provenance:

By descent in the Livingston/Ridley/Sedgwick family to the present owner.

Note:

Born to an aristocratic and politically powerful New York family, Sarah was the eldest daughter of patriots William Livingston (1723-1789), First Governor of New Jersey, and Susannah French (1755-1804). Sophisticated and well educated, Sarah married Founding Father John Jay (1745-1829) at Liberty Hall, the Livingston family estate in Elizabethtown, New Jersey in 1774.

As John Jay assumed diplomatic positions in Spain and France during the Revolutionary War, Sarah played a vital diplomatic role in entertaining dignitaries, attending Parisian salons, concerts and dinner parties solidifying the bonds between France and America.

On returning to America, as John Jay was appointed U.S. Foreign Secretary and later the First Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Sarah continued her role as a social leader, entertaining domestic and foreign dignitaries, and the rich and powerful with acute political acumen.

Not examined outside of the frame. Examination under UV shows no signs. Areas of foxing and darkening visible, but particularly so to the side edges.

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