For this collector from New England, it has been the allure of the portraits painted in the early years of the United States, between 1790 and the 1850s. Soon, hundreds of portrait artists traveled to every city and town to meet a receptive public. Federal American vernacular portraits are a unique category in American art history. A lively dialogue about the portrait’s success occurred with the artist, sitter, and the public. This collection of Federal American vernacular portraits illustrates the aesthetic power of this important genre of American art.