Ann (Bolton) Moore
Ann Bolton was the oldest child of John and Eleanor (Dougherty) Bolton, of Kent County, Maryland. Records of Chester Parish in Kent County list the marriage of Ann’s parents and the birth of Ann and her five siblings: John (b. 1774), Robert (b. 1776), Edwin (b. 1779), Mary (1780), and Curtis (1783). In 1791, Ann married a distant cousin, John Mauve Moore of Savannah and moved to that city. She had one child who died young. The couple apparently lived with John’s mother, Susannah Moore, a wealthy widow. John died while traveling north in 1797. Susannah continued to support her daughter-in-law until her own death in 1802. Susannah’s will lists several large bequests of property to Ann. These include the house in Oglethorpe Square, near those of her siblings and several Bolton cousins.
ARTIST: David Boudon was born (1748-1816?) in Geneva Switzerland. At the age of twelve he was apprenticed to the Genevan copperplate engraver Jean-Daniel Dupre. By 1780 he was also working in metalpoint, a technique where a thin rod of metal is drawn across a surface to leave a line. There is some evidence to suggest that Boudon moved from Geneva to Italy sometime after 1786. In 1794 he emigrated to America, working first in Charleston and Savannah. His peripatetic career carried him to New York, Philadelphia, Alexandria, Virginia, Raleigh and Fayetteville, North Carolina, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Frederick Maryland. His last known location is Chillicothe, Ohio,
Boudon is known primarily as a miniaturist. The majority of his surviving works—50 to 60 in total—are silverpoint on vellum, although he did occasionally work in watercolor on ivory. His style, with its thin color wash over a linear image, reflects his early training as an engraver. According to his own advertisements, he considered himself more as a drafstman or “limner” rather than a painter.
RELATED WORKS: MESDA owns two additional profile portraits by Boudon: John and Delilah Hunter of Morgan County, Virginia (acc. 4202.1-2).
REFERENCES: Nancy E. Richards, “A Most Perfect Resemblance at Moderate Prices: The Miniatures of David Boudon”, Winterthur Portfolio vol. 9, (1974) 77-102.
DESCRIPTION: Miniature portrait of a young woman. Half length, facing front, the woman wears a light blue dress, with lace ruffles, and waist sash. From her waist hang a watch and a châtelaine. Three strands of beads are around her neck and large earrings on her ears. In her curled hair are sprigs of pink flowers.
Boudon is known primarily as a miniaturist, working mostly in silverpoint on vellum, although some of his works are watercolor on ivory. His style, with its thin color wash over a linear image, reflects his early training as an engraver. According to his own advertisements, he considered himself more as a drafstman or “limner” rather than a painter. (See Nancy E. Richards, “A Most Perfect Resemblance at Moderate Prices: The Miniatures of David Boudon.” (Winterthur Portfolio 9, pp 77-102)
