Summer House at Mount Vernon and the Woods Over Washington's Tomb

Status

Not on view

Label Text

The MVLA collection holds five other views of Mount Vernon by the artist: four oil sketches on paper (M-2742, M-2744, M-2745, M-5360), and a canvas (M-2731), as well as a drawing of a Brandywine encampment site, M-5358.

A signed oil sketch on paper dated June 1839 and inscribed “Summer House at Mount Vernon and the Woods Over Washington’s Tomb” which was in the collection of Xanthus R. Smith was shown in the 1948 exhibition catalogue.

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Datec. 1839

Artist William Thompson Russell Smith (American, 1812 - 1896)

Geography Probably made - United States

Medium/TechniqueOil on paper board (mounted on fiberglass honeycomb panel); gilt wood

DimensionsOverall (H x W x D, framed): 15 5/8 in. x 18 7/8 in. x 2 1/2 in. (39.69 cm x 47.94 cm x 6.35 cm)

Credit LinePurchase, 1979

Object numberM-2743/A-B

DescriptionA horizontal landscape showing Bushrod Washington’s “Summer House,” or pavilion in the foreground at left. The square pavilion or gazebo has white columns and a cupola, and is set on a red brick base, with steps at the right edge. Just behind the gazebo is a large tree, and a series of trees and bushes are shown below and behind it, leading down to the Potomac, and the Maryland shore beyond. Bluish underdrawing is visible, particularly around the trees, and in the sky. On the river are several sailboats. The background is composed of blue sky and clouds. Pale yellow flowers appear in the left foreground; the right foreground has dark leafy foliage and brighter yellow flowers. Clusters of similar flowers lead the eye down the slope from the gazebo to the white paling fence above Washington’s tomb surrounded by a large group of smaller trees in the middle distance.

It is framed in a reproduction gilt wood frame.

Published ReferencesLydia Mattice Brandt, “Picturing Mount Vernon,” Imprint 38: 1 (Spring 2013), 2-19. (General Reference)

Lydia Mattice Brandt, "Re-living Mount Vernon: Replicas and Memories of America's Most Famous House." Ph.D. diss., University of Virginia, 2011. (General Reference)

Robert W. Torchia, The Smiths: A Family of Philadelphia Artists, (Philadelphia, PA: Schwarz Gallery, 1999). (General Reference)

Virginia E. Lewis, Russell Smith: Romantic Realist (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1956), 74-76.

James Albert Wineberger, The Tomb of Washington at Mount Vernon (Washington, D.C.: T. McGill, 1858). (General Reference)

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.