Painting

Title:

Elizabeth Pickering Stone

Object Name:

Painting

Object ID:

1947.007.12

Creator:

Brewster, John (1766-1854)

Place of Origin:

Kennebunk or Kennebunkport, ME

Date:

1798-1804

Description:

Portrait of Elizabeth Pickering Stone (1775-1834) by John Brewster, Jr. (1766-1854), 1798-1804. Oil on canvas on aluminum. Three-quarter length portrait of seated woman facing right of center; eyes looking center front. Brown hair with fringed bangs and high chignon; blue-gray eyes. Wearing a high-waisted white dress with short sleeves trimmed with darned lace; white fichu tucked into neckline on bodice; a gold beaded necklace and a gold hoop earring visible in right ear. Both arms bent at elbow, with open book in right hand; left hand supporting right arm. Red and green variegated curtain draped behind with opening to right revealing view of landscape. Above subject's right shoulder, the molded ear of the crest rail of a Chippendale-style chair is visible. Paper label with typed inscription on cardboard backing: "John Brewster / 1766 - d. after 1846 / ELIZABETH PICKERING STONE / 1775-1834 / oil on canvas." Paper label with typed inscription, upper left on stretcher: "ELIZABETH / PICKERING STONE / Born Newington, N.H., Oct. 23, 1775. / daughter of Major Ephraim Pickering / married Capt. Jonathan Stone of Kenne- / bunk, Me., but after his death return- / ed to Greenland, N.H., where her sister / Abigail (Pickering) Packer lived. She died at Greenland, July 3, 1834. She / was always known as 'Betsey' and left / no issue. (Mrs. Packer was Miss Bertha / Vaughan's great-grandmother.) / From the Bertha Vaughan Estate / Portsmouth, N.H. / 1946/7." Partial chalk inscription on stretcher: "rday"; according to catalog card it reads "Friday"; and on left stretcher, no longer visible, "Nathaniel C. Little". Gilded gesso over molded wood frame; rope molding in cove.

Material:

Textile

Dimensions:

H-33.4 W-25 inches

Provenance:

Donor was great-granddaughter of Abigail Pickering Packer, who was the youngest sister of the sitter, Elizabeth Pickering Stone (1775-1834).

Elizabeth (Pickering) Stone was born in Newington, NH, where she lived until her marriage in 1798 to Captain Jonathan Stone of Kennebunk, Maine. Stone was a prominent ship owner and navigator who, when he died in 1816, left a large estate. His widow returned to Greenland, NH, where her sister, Abigail Pickering Packer, also lived. "Betsey" Stone bequeathed to her sister any residuary estate, apparently including "2 Portraits" listed in the estate inventory. The sister's will (1854) mentioned "The likenesses of Capt. John and Elizabeth Stone."

Credit Line:

Bequest of Bertha Vaughan

People:

Stone, Elizabeth (1775-1834), Stone, Jonathan (1765-1816), Brewster, John, Jr. (1766-1854), Vaughan, Bertha (1873-1946)

Subjects:

Portrait paintings, Portraits, Clothing & dress, Books