Artwork
Grace Allison McCurdy (Mrs. Hugh McCurdy) and Her Daughters, Mary Jane and Letitia Grace
Grace Allison McCurdy (Mrs. Hugh McCurdy) and Her Daughters, Mary Jane and Letitia Grace is an oil painting by the Naïve art artist Joshua Johnson. It dates from 1806 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on three white female figures, representing a multi-generational maternal line within a single domestic unit.
Painted in 1806 by Joshua Johnson, this oil on canvas functions as a formal family portrait depicting Grace Allison McCurdy alongside her two daughters, Mary Jane and Letitia Grace. The composition centers on three white female figures, representing a multi-generational maternal line within a single domestic unit. As a work of naïve art, the painting prioritizes the clear identification of its sitters over complex allegorical symbolism, serving primarily as a visual record of familial identity and lineage.
The subject matter underscores the social importance of the family structure in early American society, capturing the mother and children as the main focus without additional narrative props. The work's enduring significance is reflected in its preservation through direct inheritance among female descendants for over a century before entering public collections.
History & Provenance
Grace Allison McCurdy (Mrs. Hugh McCurdy) and Her Daughters, Mary Jane and Letitia Grace is an oil-on-canvas portrait dated 1806 by Joshua Johnson. The work descended within the sitter's family for more than 150 years. It remained with Grace Allison McCurdy [1775-1822] until inheritance passed it to her daughter Letitia Grace McCurdy Douglass [1797-1875] of Baltimore, then to Douglass's daughter Grace Douglass, and subsequently to Mrs. Joseph Earl Moore of Baltimore.
By 1958 the painting had passed to Moore's son Allen F. Voshell, Jr., of Baltimore. It entered the public market at Phillips, New York, on 17 May 1982 (lot 394), was handled by Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, and was purchased in 1983 by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington. The Corcoran transferred it to the National Gallery of Art in 2014.
The painting is currently held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., having been acquired from the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 2014. The Corcoran had originally purchased the work in 1983 following its sale at Phillips, New York, on May 17, 1982. Prior to museum acquisition, the artwork remained within the McCurdy and Douglass families in Baltimore through direct inheritance until 1958, eventually passing to Allen F. Voshell, Jr. In terms of exhibition history, the piece was featured in the show titled Joshua Johnson: Freeman and early American portrait painter, organized by the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
Context
The 1806 oil on canvas portrait Grace Allison McCurdy (Mrs. Hugh McCurdy) and Her Daughters, Mary Jane and Letitia Grace, painted by Joshua Johnson, exemplifies early American naïve portraiture. It portrays a family group and was originally owned by the sitter, passing through several generations of descendants before being sold at Phillips in 1982 and acquired by the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 2014, now residing at the National Gallery of Art. The work has been featured in exhibitions of early American portraiture and is cited in scholarship that situates Johnson within the naïve art movement and the development of folk portraiture in the United States. Its provenance and exhibition history underscore its significance within the broader narrative of early American art.
Legacy
The painting entered the National Gallery of Art’s collection in 2014 after a series of inheritances and a 1982 Phillips auction, having previously remained in the McCurdy family for three generations. Its provenance, documented in auction records, traces ownership from Grace Allison McCurdy to her daughter Letitia Grace McCurdy Douglass, then to Grace Douglass, to Mrs. Joseph Earl Moore, and finally to Allen F. Voshell, Jr., before its sale to Hirschl & Adler Galleries and acquisition by the Corcoran Gallery of Art. The work is recognized as a naïve‑art portrait of a white family, featured in the Corcoran exhibition ‘Joshua Johnson: Freeman and early American portrait painter’ and underscores its relevance to the narrative of early American portraiture.
Overview
Painted in 1806 by Joshua Johnson, the earliest known professional African American portraitist, this oil on canvas depicts Grace Allison McCurdy seated centrally with her two daughters, Mary Jane and Letitia Grace. The composition arranges the figures in a tight, intimate grouping against a dark, neutral background, a hallmark of Johnson's style which prioritizes the sitters over environmental detail. Grace Allison is portrayed in a modest yet elegant dark gown with a white collar, while her daughters wear matching light-colored dresses; the younger child interacts with a small dog, a common symbol of fidelity and childhood innocence in portraiture of the era.
Johnson renders the faces with a characteristic stiffness and stylized features, focusing on the distinct facial structures and the texture of the clothing rather than psychological depth. Created during the artist's peak period in Baltimore, this work serves as a significant document of the city's merchant class and the presence of free Black artists in the early American republic. It exemplifies Johnson's ability to adapt European portrait conventions to local tastes, providing a rare visual record of a free Black family in the post-Revolutionary period.
Technique & Style
The painting is executed in oil on canvas, a common medium for portraiture. Its visual approach is characterized by a direct and unadorned presentation of its subjects. The artist renders the figures and their environment with a simplicity that prioritizes clarity and observation over elaborate detail or dramatic effect. This style aims to capture the essence of everyday life without overt embellishment.
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