Artwork
Susannah or Mary Bontecou
Susannah or Mary Bontecou is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist John Durand. It dates from 1769 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Accession no.
- 62.256.6
- Credit line
- Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, 1962
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The inclusion of the rose functions as a visual motif within the picture, contributing to the overall representation of femininity in the artwork.
The painting titled 'Susannah or Mary Bontecou' presents a single female sitter rendered in oil on canvas in 1768. The composition shows a woman accompanied by a rose, an element that forms part of the portrait’s iconography. As a work in the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it exemplifies 18th‑century portraiture that emphasized the sitter’s social standing and gender identity.
The inclusion of the rose functions as a visual motif within the picture, contributing to the overall representation of femininity in the artwork.
History & Provenance
Created in 1768, this oil-on-canvas portrait was executed by the artist John Durand. The work depicts a woman, identified as either Susannah or Mary Bontecou, holding a rose. While specific details regarding the original commission or the immediate circumstances of its creation are not provided in the available records, the painting's ownership history is partially documented through its association with the Bontecou family.
The chain of custody includes Grace Bontecou, followed by Evelina Peck and Charlotte Low Lage. In the twentieth century, the portrait entered the collection of Edgar William Garbisch and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch before ultimately being acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains part of the American Wing.
The painting entered the Metropolitan Museum of Art through a chain of ownership that included Grace Bontecou, Evelina Peck, Charlotte Low Lage, Edgar William Garbisch, and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch. It is now held in the museum's American Wing collection. Wikidata records its location as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with measured dimensions of 90.2 cm in height and 70.2 cm in width. No specific accession number or exhibition history is recorded in the available sources.
Context
The painting Susannah or Mary Bontecou, executed by John Durand in 1768, exemplifies mid‑18th‑century American portraiture through its modest scale, oil on canvas medium, and depiction of a young woman with a rose. Classified within The American Wing’s portrait genre, the work entered the Metropolitan Museum of Art through the bequest of Grace Bontecou and related donors, linking it to a network of early American art collectors. Its formal qualities and subject matter reflect contemporary colonial aesthetics, while its provenance illustrates the emergence of private collections that later formed foundational museum holdings of early American art.
Overview
Painted in 1769 by John Durand, Susannah or Mary Bontecou is a significant early American portrait depicting a young woman in a blue dress holding a single pink rose near her face. Her other hand rests upon a table draped in a red cloth, set against a dark, unadorned background that isolates the figure and emphasizes the subject's presence. The composition utilizes a restrained palette where the blue of the dress and the red of the tablecloth create a visual counterpoint to the soft pink of the flower.
Durand, active in New York and Connecticut during the colonial period, produced this work during a time when portraiture was the primary vehicle for artistic expression in the American colonies. The inclusion of the rose is notable, as this painting represents one of the earliest known instances in American art of a female sitter holding a flower, a motif that may allude to themes of love, beauty, or transience. The work exemplifies Durand's competent handling of the genre, characterized by direct observation and a focus on the sitter's attire and posture rather than elaborate allegorical settings.
It stands as an important document of mid-18th-century American portraiture, reflecting the artistic conventions and social values of the era.
Artist & collection
Artist
John Durand (active 1765–1782) was a colonial American portraitist. With John Mare, Abraham Delanoy, and Lawrence Kilburn, he was one of a number of portraitists living and working in New York City during the 1760s.…
