Public data from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Learn more
About the Artwork
The sitter’s high-waisted dress, pearl necklace, and elegant hairstyle of cascading ringlets reflect the height of fashion around 1800. Her gaze is assured: her chin is tilted upward but her eyes peer down with confidence. Mason’s husband was a prosperous lawyer, an influential figure in President Thomas Jefferson’s administration, and a plantation owner in Maryland. According to an inventory from 1807, the couple enslaved approximately 185 people, ranging from the newborn Abraham to 79-year-old Rachel. The family’s wealth afforded Mason the opportunity to be painted by Gilbert Stuart, a much sought-after portraitist.
Provenance
1921-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio 1921: (Frank W. Bayley, Boston, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1899-1921: Louisa Mason Terry [1844-1921], Washington, DC, consigned to Frank W. Bayley for sale1 1873-1899: Margaret Augusta Cowan Mason [1821-1899], Hagerstown, MD, by descent to her daughter, Louisa Mason Terry1 1836-1873: Judge John Thomson Mason, Jr. [1815-1873], Hagerstown, MD, by descent to his wife, Margaret Augusta Cowan Mason c. 1803/1805 - 1836: Elizabeth Beltzhoover Mason [1781-1836] and John Thomson Mason [1765-1824], Montpelier, Clear Spring, MD, by descent to their son, Judge John Thomson Mason, Jr.
Exhibition history
The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936). The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941). 35th Anniversary Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 20-September 30, 1951). American Portraits. Akron Art Museum, Akron, OH (organizer) (February 23-March 18, 1956). Gilbert Stuart. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (October 18, 2004-January 16, 2005); National Gallery of Art, Landover, MD (March 27-July 31, 2005). CMA @ Oberlin - American Portraits. Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (August 29-December 17, 2006).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Gilbert Stuart (American, born The Thirteen Colonies, 1755–1828)
- Date
- c. 1803–5
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 90 x 78 x 8 cm (35 7/16 x 30 11/16 x 3 1/8 in.); Unframed: 73.8 x 61 cm (29 1/16 x 24 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- American Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Gift from J. H. Wade
- Accession no.
- 1921.428
More by Gilbert Stuart in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00009134
Powered by Art Trackers