Reverend Stephen Williams's Portrait
Stephen Williams (1693-1782) was ten years old when he was captured during the 1704 raid on Deerfield, Massachusetts. Williams survived eighteen months of captivity and returned to New England. Like his father, the Reverend John Williams (1664-1729), Stephen attended Harvard College and became a minister. In 1716 he became the first minister of Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and his influence was felt throughout the Connecticut River Valley. This portrait, attributed to Joseph Badger (1708-1765), conveys Stephen Williams's social and intellectual authority. His clerical dress with Geneva bands (two strips of white cloth hanging from the collar) and his wig identified him as one of the most educated and important men in Puritan society.
Date: circa 1755
Topic: Portraits
Materials: oil on canvas
Dimensions: H: 30 in.(76.2 cm.), W: 25 in. (63.5 cm.)
Accession #: 1889.04