Born in Milton, Connecticut, Anson Dickinson apprenticed to a silversmith in Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1796, and first advertised as an artist in the local press in 1802. The following year he began keeping a detailed record book (Connecticut Historical Society). His more than fifteen hundred commissions reveal that he traveled widely along the East Coast but worked mainly in Connecticut and New York City, where this portrait was painted. On September 8, 1808, Dickinson documented in his account book that he painted portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Ferris to celebrate their marriage.

Benjamin Ferris came from a family of prominent landowners in Westchester County, New York. He played a role in New York politics and was appointed sheriff of the city and county of New York in February 1808. Just two months later, Benjamin wed Anna Maria Schieffelin, the sister of his business and law partner, Richard Lawrence Schieffelin. Anna Maria was the only daughter of Jacob Schieffelin III, a successful Manhattan drug wholesaler and manufacturer, and Hanna Lawrence, a talented poet with strong anti-slavery convictions. Benjamin and Anna Maria eventually had eight children, only one of whom appears to have survived to adulthood. The pair of portraits displays a romantic moodiness rare in Dickinson’s work.