The youngest of Rebecca Levy Tobias and Tobias Tobias‘ seven children, Amelia Barned Tobias was born in 1825 in New York. The family established strong links with the Hendricks clan, with sisters Fanny and Harriet and brothers Isaac Alfred and Henry all marrying children of Harmon and Frances Hendricks. In 1851, Amelia married painter Jacob Hart Lazarus, author not only of this portrait of Amelia, but several others in the collection—especially of members of the Tobias and Hendricks families. They had only one child, Emily. A generous philanthropist, upon her death Amelia left thousands of dollars to organizations, both Jewish and secular, including Mt. Sinai Hospital, Hebrew Technical School, United Hebrew Charities of the City of New York, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and the Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital. Amelia’s greatest patronage, however, went to the arts, with the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Corcoran Gallery, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art each receiving large bequests. At the latter, she established a fund for acquiring American art and also bequeathed some of her private collection of art and objects. Several years earlier Amelia and Emily had made a contribution to the museum for the establishment of the Jacob H. Lazarus Traveling Fund.