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Portrait of Mary Robinson Purdie 2016-90
Portrait of Mary Robinson Purdie (Mrs. George Purdie) (1737-1808)
Portrait of Mary Robinson Purdie 2016-90

Portrait of Mary Robinson Purdie (Mrs. George Purdie) (1737-1808)

Date1767
Attributed to John Durand (active 1760-1782)
OriginAmerica, Virginia, Smithfield or Williamsburg (probably)
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 TextScottish immigrant George Purdie and his wife, Mary Robinson Purdie, lived in Smithfield, about 20 miles down the James River from Williamsburg. A merchant, George represented the Glasgow firm of Andrew, Archibald, & Buchanan. Mary was the daughter of wealthy landowners in adjacent York County and the sister-in-law of Williamsburg mayor Thomas Everard.

The Purdie portraits were rendered by John Durand, a London-trained itinerate artist who painted in several southeastern Virginia locales from the 1760s to about 1782. During his stay in Williamsburg, Durand likely lived and painted at the Grissell Hay Lodging House, still standing on Market Square.

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.
Exhibition(s)