Portrait of Mary Marsham Croshold (Mrs. T. [or John?] Croshold)(?-?)

Date1721

Attributed to Michael Dahl, Sr. (ca. 1653 - 1743)

MediumOil on canvas, framed

DimensionsUnframed: 49 1/2 x 40in. (125.7 x 101.6cm) and Framed: 55 x 45 1/2 x 2 7/8in.

Credit LineGift of Mrs. John Hiltz

Object number1971-460,A

DescriptionA three-quarter length portrait of a young woman in a loose, gold-colored, wrap with part of a white shift visible at the bosom and at the edges of the three-quarter length sleeves. She has dark hair and eyes, her eyes being directed off to the viewer's left, away from the viewer. She holds a sprig of foliage [rosemary?] in her proper right hand, her proper left open hand resting on her lap. Beside her, to the viewer's left, an open book rests on an ill-defined table. Some legible words but mostly mock writing appear therein. Yellow lettering appears on the canvas at center left. The background is a warm brown.
Label TextThe 1721 date inscribed on the front of the painting may refer to the year of the painting's execution; if the date had other significance, such as the year of Mary Marsham's marriage to T. [or John?] Croshold of Norwich, such has not yet been documented.
Mary was the oldest of seven daughters born to Thomas Marsham (d. 1751) of Stratton Strawless, Norfolk, and his wife, Dorothy (d. 1750), the daughter of Leonard Gooch of Earsham Hall. (The couple also had two surviving sons, but their birth order has not been documented).
Beside Mary lies an open bound volume identified by an inscribed page as the issue of The Spectator for March 17, 1711. Addison's commentary in this particular issue contrasts "Aurelia" and "Fulvia," two opposing types of women, the first of whom are virtuous and content with a quiet country life, the second of whom are superficial, worldly, and materialistic. Presumably, the allusion was intended to cast Mary in the role of the womanly ideal of "Aurelia."
Swedish-born Michael Dahl came to London in 1682 and, by 1700, was the most successful and prolific painter in London after Kneller. He portrayed a number of members of the Court circle under Queen Anne. After 1714, he lost Court patronage but continued to be popular with the nobility, the church, and the law. In 1724, he charged 30 guineas for a half-length portrait. Mary Croshold's three-quarter-length must have cost a bit more.

InscribedInscribed in forward slanting block letters in yellow paint near center left is: "Mary Croshold,/eldest Daughter of/Thomas Marsham./1721."

On the pages of the open book at lower left, only mock writing appears on the righthand page. On the lefthand page, at the top, is: "56 The Spectator" and, about halfway down the same page, "No [superscript "o"] 15 Saturday March". See "Notes" for information about this particular issue of The Spectator.
ProvenanceOwnership prior to CWF's donor (Mrs. John Hiltz) is undocumented.