Mary (Hawksworth) Riddell
Artist/Maker
Polk, Charles Peale
Place Made
Baltimore Maryland United States of America
Date Made
1791-1795
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
HOA: 37 1/4; WOA: 35
Accession Number
3374
Description
DESCRIPTION: Portrait, oil on canvas, of woman and child. The painting has a thin paint film, and it is smooth with no impasto. The woman’s dark hair is piled high on her head, and she wears a yellow dress which is belted with a green sash. A miniature is pinned to her dress at the bosom. She has mourning bracelets on both her wrists and is seated in a neoclassical chair. Lying on the table is a woven basket with a thimble and other sewing materials spilling out. The child is dressed in white with a red, green, and tan sash around her waist. She wears coral around her neck. She stands before a draped, reddish curtain. Aqua blue coloring makes a background for the figures. The figures hold flowers in their hands.
History
SITTER: As a child, Mary Hawksworth accompanied her father, Colonel Hawksworth, from Inner Temple, London. He took her to Baltimore during the French and Indian War, and they took shelter from a storm at Carrollton, outside of Baltimore. The next morning, Colonel Hawksworth and his party disappeared in an Indian raid. Mary Hawksworth stayed with the Carrolls and befriended Charles Carroll. At age 18, she returned to England, where she was presented to the court of St. James. She wished to return to America and sailed to Baltimore with three ships, two of which sank at sea. In 1790, she married Baltimore merchant Robert Riddell. She is pictured here with her daughter Agnes Riddell (1788-1869), who married Kennedy Owen in December 1806.
PENDANT: The picture on the pendant around Mary Hawksworth’s neck is of her father, Colonel Hawksworth.
Artist Biography
ARTIST: The second child of Elizabeth Digby Peale and Robert Polk, Charles Peale Polk (1767-1822) was named for his uncle, Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827). Polk lived in Annapolis until about 1773, when his mother died. Two years later, when his father became a sailor, Charles went to live with his uncle, first in Baltimore, then in Philadelphia and Bucks County, Philadelphia. Following the Revolution, Polk studied painting in earnest, copying his uncle’s works and helping with the larger paintings. Apparently he was not successful in obtaining commissions of his own in Philadelphia or during a 1785 trip to Alexandria and Baltimore. He was more successful after 1792 when he moved his family to Baltimore. The following year he opened a school for young ladies, but advertised “should Gentlemen be desirous of learning, hours will be appointed for them also.”
Polk’s financial situation fluctuated, and in addition to painting he attempted a number of business ventures. Polk was married twice, first to Ruth Ellison of New Jersey, who died in 1810. The family moved to Frederick County, Maryland in 1796 and again to Richmond County, Virginia. Throughout this period, Polk painted several members of a few families, suggesting that his commissions came through personal recommendations. Despite the number of portraits, he became known as much for his religious and political activities. Of the two obituaries that appeared after his 1822 death neither mentions his life as an artist.
Polk’s financial situation fluctuated, and in addition to painting he attempted a number of business ventures. Polk was married twice, first to Ruth Ellison of New Jersey, who died in 1810. The family moved to Frederick County, Maryland in 1796 and again to Richmond County, Virginia. Throughout this period, Polk painted several members of a few families, suggesting that his commissions came through personal recommendations. Despite the number of portraits, he became known as much for his religious and political activities. Of the two obituaries that appeared after his 1822 death neither mentions his life as an artist.
Credit Line
Gift of Frank L. Horton
