Eliza Parke Custis Law

Status

Not on view

Label Text

This portrait of Elizabeth Parke Custis, the eldest granddaughter of Martha Washington, was likely made by Sarah Peale, the renowned portrait painter and daughter of James Peale, in 1836. It is a copy of Gilbert Stuart’s 1796 portrait of Miss Custis, made shortly before her marriage to Englishman Thomas Law. In 1796, Stuart was painting his “Atheneum-style” portrait of George Washington, and Elizabeth often watched his work. According to family tradition, he captured her likeness as she returned from a walk and observed the artist at work. The sitter’s spirit, and the apparent spontaneity of the pose, pervade both Stuart’s portrait (now owned by another descendant) and this faithful rendition of it. Elizabeth’s crossed-arm stance is unusual for a female figure by Stuart, who otherwise used it for male portraits, and it suggests her widely-documented willful personality.

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Datec. 1836

Artist Sarah Miriam Peale (American, 1800 - 1885)

After Gilbert Stuart (American, 1755 - 1828)

Subject Elizabeth Parke Custis Law (1776 - 1831)

Geography Made - United States

Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas, gilded wood

DimensionsOverall (H x W x D, framed): 34 in. x 28 1/2 in. x 2 1/4 in. (86.36 cm x 72.39 cm x 5.72 cm) Other (H x W x D, sight): 28 1/2 in. × 24 1/8 in. × 1 1/2 in. (72.39 cm × 61.28 cm × 3.81 cm)

Credit LineAcquired through the generosity of Melody Sawyer Richardson, Vice Regent for Ohio, 2008

Object numberH-4833

DescriptionHalf-length portrait of Elizabeth Parke Custis Law, turned three-quarters to the proper left and gazing to the front, lit from the proper right. Her arms are folded across her body, and she holds a straw hat with a scarlet ribbon at her proper left side. She wears a simple olive-green dress with a white netted shawl loosely tied over her neckline. Her dark brown hair with highlights of gold and auburn is worn loose and it falls over her forehead at proper right. Her eyes are large and a deep brown color, and her cheeks are rosy pink. She is framed by trees in a landscape background: a large brown trunk at proper right, and two crossed birch trees with blue sky and clouds behind them at proper left. Along the proper left edge, the landscape continues into the distance, showing water and more trees.
Published ReferencesCarrie Rebora Barratt and Ellen G. Miles, Gilbert Stuart (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005), 191-194. (General Reference)

Lillian B. Miller, ed., The Peale Family: Creation of a Legacy, 1770-1870 (New York: Abbeville Press, 1996), 221-247. (General Reference)

Miss Sarah Miriam Peale, 1800-1885: Portraits and Still Life, exhibition catalogue, February 5, 1967 through March 26, 1967, The Peale Museum, Baltimore, Maryland. (General Reference)

Lawrence Park, Gilbert Stuart: An Illustrated Descriptive List of His Wroks (New York: W.E. Rudge, 1926). 464-465, number 474.

Edmund Law Rogers, "Some New Washington Relics, from the Collection of Edmund Law Rogers," Century Magazine XL (May 1890): 22-25.

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