Accession Number1895.76
TitleMartha Dandridge Custis Washington (1731-1802)
Artist(s)Rembrandt PealeObject Creation Date1858Medium & Supportoil on canvasDimensions 35 ⅞ in x 29 ⅛ in (91.12 cm x 73.98 cm);35 ⅞ in x 29 ⅛ in (91.12 cm x 73.98 cm);47 ¾ in x 40 ½ in (121.29 cm x 102.87 cm)
Credit LineBequest of Henry C. LewisSubject matterBased on a portrait of Martha Washington by his father, Charles Willson Peale, in 1795, this is one of several posthumous portraits of Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 2, 1731-May 22, 1802) painted by Rembrandt Peale in the 1850s. The stone oculus surrounding the sitter mirrors Peale’s “porthole portraits” of George Washington, which he framed in stone to underscore the subject’s monumentality and to serve as an allusion to the Roman Republic, whose ideals were continually invoked by the Founding Fathers.
Physical DescriptionBust-length portrait of a woman with grey hair in a cream colored dress seated in a red chair with a view of the landscape to right of figure seen through an illusionistic stone oval window or oculus.
Primary Object Classification Painting Primary Object TypeportraitCollection AreaWesternRightsIf you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit
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Keywords
portraits
seated
sunset
window
windows
women (female humans)