Portrait of Mrs. William Chase, Sr.

The portrait of Mrs William Chase Sr., painted in 1762 and now in the Yale University Art Gallery, is a companion to the conversation piece of Mr and Mrs Chase, forming part of a family portrait commission that demonstrates Wright's early competence in serving provincial patrons. The 1762 date places this portrait among his earliest surviving works, painted when he was in his late twenties and still establishing his practice in Derby after his London training under Thomas Hudson. The Chase family commission represents the kind of multiple-work engagement that sustained a provincial painter's practice: a family group portrait accompanied by individual pendant portraits, providing both comprehensive documentation and multiple salable works. Wright's early portraits follow the conventions he learned from Hudson — standard formats, careful rendering of dress and accessories, warm but restrained characterization — applied with honest observation of his subjects rather than with Hudson's sometimes more mechanical production. Mrs Chase's portrait at Yale is part of an important collection of Wright's work in American institutions, reflecting the significant export of his paintings to American collectors both in his lifetime and subsequently, drawn by the democratic values and Enlightenment commitments that his work embodies.

The portrait shows Wright's early handling of female subjects, with careful attention to costume and a conventional but dignified presentation. The artist's command of composition and surface quality reflects years of disciplined practice and keen artistic sensibility.