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Paint cup

Paint cups,
1789-1852,
Glass
Paint cup
Paint cups,
1789-1852,
Glass
Paint cups, 1789-1852, Glass
Status
Not on view
Label Text

When Eleanor "Nelly" Parke Custis came to live at Mount Vernon after the death of her father in 1781, her grandmother, Martha Washington, ensured that she received an exceptional education. The Washingtons' household accounts of the 1790s hint at Nelly's developing interest in the arts, listing tuition for drawing masters and the purchase of instruction books, drawing paper, and paint boxes. Likely repurposed watch glasses, these tiny glass cups may have been used by Nelly to prepare watercolors. Throughout her life, she enjoyed painting for her own enjoyment and for family and friends.

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Datec. 1789-1852
Geography
Medium/TechniqueGlass
DimensionsOverall: 5/8 in. x 1 3/4 in. (1.6 cm x 4.45 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Lyttleton B. P. Gould, Jr., M. Chapin Krech, Dr. Shepard Krech, Alvin W. Krech, Peter Chapin, Charles Chapin, and Mrs. Charles Merrill Chapin III, in memory of Esther Maria Lewis Chapin, 1986
Object numberM-2967/B
DescriptionClear glass cups; concave with beveled lip and flat base.
Mount Vernon's object research is ongoing and information about this object is subject to change. For information on image use and reproductions, click here.
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