Portrait of Sarah Pendleton Dandridge (Mrs. Adam Stephen Dandridge, Sr.)(1785-1855)

Date1831

Artist James W. Macoughtry, Jr. (1808-1841)

OriginAmerica, West Virginia, Jefferson County

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsUnframed: 36 3/16 x 28 3/16in. (91.9 x 71.6cm)

Credit LineGift of Edmund P. Dandridge, Jr., and Mrs. Elizabeth Dandridge McDonald

Object number1975-149,A&C

DescriptionA three-quarter length portrait of a middle-aged woman seated in an armchair. She is turned slightly towards the viewer's left but gazes directly at the viewer with a sweet smile. Her proper left hand rests in her lap; her other hand lays behind the draped arm of her chair and is not shown. The drape over the arm is red, but a blue drape trimmed with black netting is laid over the other arm of the chair, this item seemingly representing a shawl. The sitter wears a black dress having a natural waistline, voluminous puffed upper sleeves, and a sheer white collar secured at the neckline with an oval brooch. Sheer white lace cuffs adorn the ends of the sleeves. She also wears a white lace cap that is decorated with a pink bow, with pink ribbons trailing from the cap onto her shoulders. In the (viewer's) lefthand side of the composition, a bunched reddish drape hangs vertically. The background is a warm brown.

The modern reproduction, gilded, "Gilbert Stuart-style" frame currently on the portrait was ordered from Gold Leaf Studios, Washington, DC, in November 1992. Also see "Curatorial Remarks."
Label TextThe artist studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Art in the late 1820s. A satisfied portrait client underwrote his further study abroad, and in 1832-1834, Macoughtry observed and copied paintings in Paris and several cities in Italy. He died relatively young, at age 33, and was buried in Middleway, West Virginia, his tombstone bearing the inscription "ARTIST" beneath his name.

Sarah Pendleton married Adam Stephen Dandridge, Sr. (1782-1821) on 1 January 1805. The couple lived at the home he erected called "The Bower" located on the Opequon River near present-day Leetown, West Virginia. They raised six children, among them, Adam Stephen Dandridge, Jr. (1814-1894), whose portrait was also painted by Macoughtry.
InscribedNo original inscriptions have been noted on the painting per se.
Three manuscript items relate to the portrait, the first two of them now held Special Collections at the CWF Library (gifts from the donors of acc. nos. 1975-147, -148, and -149). The first MS item, a receipt from the artist, reads: "$60---/Rec[eive]d --- Dec[embe]r ---19th 1831 of Mrs Sarah/P Dandridge --- Sixty dollars in full for/painting portrats [sic] of/ herself and son ---/James Macoughtry". On the verso is: "Mr J Mc--/Coughtry/for $60/Decr 1831".
The second MS item reads: "Baltimore Oct 26 1831/Mr J. McCaughtry--To [Thos?] Palmer Dr/To 3 portrait frames---$27..00/[ditto mark under preceding word 'To'][Box?] for do-- do-- 1..75/$28..75".
The third MS item (documented only in the form of a photocopy in the file; the original presumably remains in family hands) reads: "Rec'd of Mrs Sarah P. Dandridge by the polite/ness of Mr James McCaughtry: fifteen Dollars/to be apply'd to [the? their?] credit of the subscrip/tion to the new church in Smithfield/Nov 5th 1831/John F Smith/for/John Moyer".
ProvenanceThis portrait was acquired along with two (1975-147 and 1975-148) of other family members; all three descended in the subjects' family to Colonial Williamsburg's donors, although the exact line has not been documented.