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1989-312,A, Portrait
Portrait of Sarah Waters Meade (Mrs. David Meade, Jr., 1749-1829)
1989-312,A, Portrait

Portrait of Sarah Waters Meade (Mrs. David Meade, Jr., 1749-1829)

Date1770 (probably)
Attributed to Cosmo John Alexander (ca. 1724 - 1772)
OriginAmerica, Virginia, Williamsburg
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed: 30 1/4 x 25 1/8in. (76.8 x 63.8cm) and Framed: 37 3/8 x 32 1/4 x 2 1/2in.
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Rose S. Cooper
Object number1989-312,A
DescriptionHalf-length portrait of a young woman turned three-quarters to the left, set within feigned spandrels, her hands not shown. A twisted scarf and a string of pearls are tucked into her pulled back dark hair. The scarf is lavender colored and incorporates a double gold stripe, with a gold-colored scalloped edging; it appears to hang down behind her head and to be drawn forward around her proper right arm. Twisted and wrapped around her waist is a length of what appears to be the same fabric---but colored dull blue rather than lavender. She wears a loose wrap of a shimmering, pale, gray-mauve colored fabric that is lined with bright blue, the ruffles of her white shift appearing above a lavender-colored bodice. Her eyes are hazel, or pale brown.

The 3 7/8-inch gilded frame is an early 19th c. replacement; it consists of a scoop molding with an elongated [bellflower?] repeat near the sight edge and beading before the outer return. See "Notes" for the frame's history.

Label TextThe only child of William and Sarah Prentis Waters, Sarah Waters was raised in her parents’ Duke of Gloucester Street home. Her father was a merchant, as was her maternal grandfather, William Prentis, whose portrait is to your left. Sarah married David Meade, Jr., in 1774 and they moved to nearby Prince George County. In 1796 they resettled permanently on a grand estate in Kentucky.

Scottish artist Cosmo Alexander painted this portrait during his travels through Virginia in 1770-1771. Arriving in America about 1765, he worked in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island before venturing south. A teenaged Gilbert Stuart became his student in Rhode Island and traveled with him to Virginia and Scotland.

ProvenanceThe portrait is believed to have descended from the subject to her daughter, Mrs. Nathaniel Massie (Susan Meade); to her daughter, Mrs. William Y. Strong (Ann Massie); to her son, Joseph Strong; to the Cooper family. Details of descent between Joseph Strong and the Coopers is still to be clarified.
Exhibition(s)