Portrait of Mary Robinson Purdie (Mrs. George Purdie) (1737-1808)
Date1767
Attributed to
John Durand (active 1760-1782)
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsOverall: 81.3 x 66cm (32 x 26in.)
Framed: 95.3 x 82.6cm (37 1/2 x 32 1/2in.)
Credit LineGift of Doris Gwaltney
Object number2016-90,A&C
DescriptionA half-length portrait of a woman with her head turned to the viewer's left. She extends both of her arms forward, one bearing a cluster of grapes, the other serving as a perch for an orange breasted bird. Her hair is pulled up and ornamented with sprays of blooms and foliage. Around her attenuated neck are rows of large pearls and a central pearl pendant secured with a prominent bow. The sitter wears a blue dress with gathered fabric robings as well as lace accents around the neckline and cuffs.Label TextMary Robinson Purdie (d. 1808) was the ninth child of Major Anthony Robinson (1697-1756) and Diana Starkey (1702-1758). Mary was the second wife of George Purdie, but he had no issue from his first union with Frances Wentworth. The Purdies lived in Smithfield, Virginia, where George operated as a merchant and justice of the peace.
ProvenanceThe will of Mary Robinson Purdie includes “two family portraits,” which could refer to the Durand paintings. After her death, they passed to her eldest son, John Hyndman Purdie (1770-1845), to his son John Robinson Purdie (1809-1898), to his son Thomas Smith Purdie (1853-1923), to his son Colonel Kenneth Sinclair Purdie (1892-1983). At this time, Doris Horne Gwaltney, a descendant of John Hyndman Purdie’s brother, Thomas, assumed ownership. Doris Gwaltney and her husband William Atwill Gwaltney donated the portraits to Colonial Williamsburg in March 2016 along with a number of other Purdie family objects.
1742-1746 (probably)
Possibly 1700-1750
Probably 1838-1842
1815 probably