Portraits Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
PA.017 |
Title |
Mary Ward Flagg |
Artist |
Feke, Robert, circa 1707-circa 1752 |
Date |
1749 circa; 1750 (AAP, Foote) |
Description |
Mary Ward Flagg (1713-1781), Ebenezer Flagg’s wife, Richard Ward’s daughter, and Henry Collins’ niece, was a direct descendent of Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island. Portrait. Adult sitting female subject in Colonial dress, below knee-length view, facing left three-quarter turn with eyes facing front and slightly down, her left hand lying in her lap, holding a spray of flowers. Her right elbow rests on a rock ledge suggesting a rocky landscape or a cave. There is a faint view of sky and clouds in the background (and cliffs of Newport?). Her grey satin dress is typical of the period, particularly its long-waisted bodice that comes to a point in the front. Her neck is bare with an extremely low v shaped decolletage. The neck line is softened with a border of muslin chemise and a modesty piece which covers the bosom. Her elbow-length sleeves are pinned up with jewels which appear to be pearls, revealing the full sleeve of her chemise beneath. Closely dressed light brown hair parted in the middle with a curl falling over her right shoulder emphasized, by contrast, the fullness of the hooped skirt. (AAP; Powell 59) |
Object Name |
Painting |
Medium |
Oil Paint |
Material |
Canvas |
Dimensions |
H-125.2 W-97.8 cm |
Credit line |
The Gladys Moore Vanderbilt Széchényi Memorial Collection |
Provenance |
1991, December 30 - The Gladys Moore Vanderbilt Széchényi Memorial Collection |
Collection |
Painting |
People |
Szechenyi, Gladys Vanderbilt, Countess, 1887-1965 Szápáry, Sylvia Széchényi Feke, Robert, circa 1707-circa 1752 Flagg, Mary Ward, 1713-1781 |
Notes |
Formerly #151. This is a companior painting to #152 in the Redwood collection and the last of the three family Flagg portraits painted by Feke in 1749. This painting is part of a collection of eight paintings given to the Redwood Library by descendents of Countess László Sechényi, a daughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt (1843-1899). It was the wish of Countess Sechényi that the portraits remain together as a group in Newport. Since the family enjoyed a long association with the Redwood Library and a majority of the people depicted in the paintings are part of the history of Newport, it was felt that the Library was the appropriate repository for the portraits. 1946 (8-30 Oct) Whitney Museum, New York; (2-10 Nov) Heckscher Art Museum, Huntington, Long Island; (27 Nov-22 Dec) Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts: "Robert Feke, Native Colonial Painter" |
Related Publications |
1907 Family Records on the Descendants of Gershom Flagg; 1926 "Genealogical Notes on the Founding of New England: my ancestor's part in that undertaking" by Flagg (142); 1986 "The Flagg Family: An Artistic Legacy and the Provenance of a Collection" by Powell (58) |