Portrait of Ann Taylor Roberts (1803-1832)
Date1820
Artist
William Dunlap
MediumOil on canvas
Credit LineMuseum Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Donnelly; conservation funded in part by Lex Reeves
Object number2019-126,A&B
DescriptionThree quarter length portrait of a young woman playing a harp. She is depicted in front of a window, through which can be seen a landscape scene of her family’s home on the Elizabeth River. A dark red-brown drape is painted in the upper right corner between the sitter and the window. The sitter is wearing a white dress with a gauze shawl. Her dark blonde hair is pulled back into a bun with curls framing her face. The portrait survives in its original frame.Label TextIn 1816, 13-year-old Ann Taylor Roberts of Norfolk, Virginia, wrote to her cousin in England that “I am thought a pretty good Performer on the Harp and Piano[,] can speak French, and am learning to paint.” Just four years later, artist William Dunlap noted in his diary, “Engage to paint a portrait sitter visiting James River of Miss Roberts $75 size playing Harp.” Ann is depicted in Dunlap’s likeness displaying her musical abilities on an imported French harp. Her family home is visible through the window.
Exhibition(s)
ca. 1840
ca. 1820
1815 probably
Probably 1838-1842
1860-1880
