The subject's maiden name was Meta (or Anna) Nutzhorn. Her portrait was a gift to the Society from her grandnephew.

A native of Maine, King was admitted to the bar after attending Harvard, and entered politics soon thereafter. In 1784 he was sent as a delegate to the Continental Congress and three years later to the Constitutional Convention. He moved to New York in 1788 and was elected to his first term in the U.S. Senate, serving from 1789 to 1796. In the latter year he went to Great Britain as minister, a post he held until 1803. He was an unsuccessful candidate for vice-president twice, in 1804 and 1808.

John Alsop King was the son of Rufus King (1755-1827) and the brother of Edward King (1795-1836). His portrait, like that of his brother (1958.11), was painted in London, while Trumbull was there as part of the Jay Treaty commission. The artist was a friend of Edward's father, who was the minister to the Court of St. James's. John Alsop King entered politics in the 1820s, became a member of the newly formed Republican party in 1856, and was elected governor of New York the following year.

Hales was a baronet and a member of Parliament from Canterbury. His portrait is one of the earliest signed and dated by Wollaston. It was executed in England, several years before the artist came to the Colonies.

Helen Eliza Benson was the daughter of George Benson, a prosperous merchant and bank of Providence, R. I., and a strong abolitionist. She met William Lloyd Garrison at an antislavery meeting in April 1833, and in September 1834 they were married.

The subject was born in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, and as a youth was apprenticed to a saddlemaker. At the age of eighteen he decided to become a painter and went to Philadelphia, studying briefly with Denis A. Volozan. By 1810 he had established his studio in New York, where it was to remain the rest of his life. Paradise was one of the founders of the National Academy of Design.

Martin was an importer of liquors, and from 1860 to 1873 he was so listed at 60 West Street in the New York City Directory. His portrait was a gift to the Society from his grandnephew.

The subject was the third son of Henry Hull Martin (1809-86) and Anna (Townsend) Martin (d. 1866) of Albany. Martin, who was prominent in American and European society, was a patron of the Plaza Hotel in New York and the sponsor of many events there. This miniature portrait of him was a gift to the Society from his grandnephew.

A native of Massachusetts, the subject established a law practice in Troy, New York, after his graduation from Brown University in 1808. After the War of 1812 he entered politics and became one of the most powerful figures in Albany. He served as governor of New York for three terms (1833-38), as secretary of war under President James Polk (1845-49), and as secretary of state under Franklin Pierce (appointed 1853).

Edward King spent the first years of his life in England where his father, Rufus King (1755-1827), was the minister to the Court of St. James's. This portrait of him as a child was painted in London, while Trumbull was there as part of the Jay Treaty commission. The artist was a friend of Edward's father. This portrait came to the Society as part of the bequest of Edward's great-grandson, also named Rufus King.