John Singleton Copley (1738-1815)
"Portrait of Mrs. Theodore Atkinson Jr." (1765)
Oil on canvas
Located in the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, United States
Frances Deering Wentworth (1745–1813) was born into a wealthy and well-connected family. She married her cousin Theodore Atkinson in 1762. In 1767 it was rumored she was having an affair with another of her cousins, John Wentworth, while her husband suffered from consumption. Theodore died October 28, 1769, and was soon buried. Fueling the rumor mill, Frances and John wed the following week. In June 1775, on the brink of the American Revolutionary War, the Wentworths fled New Hampshire for England. Eventually they settled in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with John as lieutenant governor. Supposedly, Frances hated her life in Nova Scotia, and had an affair with Prince William. When John found out about the affair, he was not upset with her, but he did write to King George III, William's father, and William was called back to England.
She is depicted with her pet flying squirrel.