Artwork
Mary Cuthbert (Mrs. James Cuthbert) (?)
Mary Cuthbert (Mrs. James Cuthbert) (?) is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Jeremiah Theus. It dates from 1765 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
Executed in 1765, this portrait is an oil painting on canvas. The work measures 75.5 cm in height and 62.6 cm in width. As a colonial-era piece by Jeremiah Theus, the composition utilizes standard oil techniques on a woven fabric support typical of eighteenth-century portraiture.
History & Provenance
The painting subsequently went to her son, John Cuthbert Aspinwall of Norfolk, Virginia, who sold it to Eunice Chambers of Hartsville, South Carolina.
Jeremiah Theus painted this portrait in 1765. According to family tradition relayed in 1928, this work and its pendant had always remained within the Cuthbert family of Beaufort and Charleston, South Carolina. It eventually passed to Sophie Cuthbert Aspinwall of Washington, who was incorrectly identified as Mrs. Clarence A. Aspinwall in a 1953 publication but later confirmed by a cousin in 1989.
The painting subsequently went to her son, John Cuthbert Aspinwall of Norfolk, Virginia, who sold it to Eunice Chambers of Hartsville, South Carolina. Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch purchased the painting in January 1955 and gifted it to the National Gallery of Art in 1965.
The painting is held at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Its accession number is 1965.15.7. It entered the collection through a series of documented transfers: Sophie Cuthbert Aspinwall of Washington owned the portrait, which was then held by her son John Cuthbert Aspinwall in Norfolk, Virginia, before being sold to Eunice Chambers in Hartsville, South Carolina. In January 1955, it was purchased by Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, and subsequently gifted to the National Gallery of Art in 1965.
Exhibition history includes inclusion in the 1938 exhibition "American Portraits and Related Genres" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the 1970 exhibition "American Paintings from the Colonial Period to 1900" at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Context
The portrait was created in 1765 by Jeremiah Theus as an oil on canvas work. It entered the National Gallery of Art collection in 1965 through a gift from Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch. The painting's provenance traces from Sophie Cuthbert Aspinwall through her son John Cuthbert Aspinwall to Eunice Chambers before its acquisition by the Garbisches. The work remains part of the National Gallery of Art's holdings in Washington, D.C.
Jeremiah Theus was a colonial portraitist active in South Carolina and Georgia during the mid-18th century. His artistic practice focused on depicting prominent local families, with this piece exemplifying his role in documenting elite colonial society. Theus's work continues to be studied for its significance in early American portraiture and regional artistic traditions.
Overview
Created around 1765, this oil on canvas portrait is attributed to the Swiss‑American painter Jeremiah Theus. It presents a seated woman identified as Mary Cuthbert, the wife of James Cuthbert, in a domestic setting that combines portraiture with a hinted landscape behind her.
Subject & Meaning
The sitter is shown holding a book, her hand poised near her face, suggesting literacy or piety. She wears a blue dress complemented by a white apron, a modest head covering, a blue ribbon, and a string of pearls, elements that convey both modesty and a degree of social standing.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Jeremiah Theus (né Theüs; April 5, 1716 – May 17, 1774) was a Swiss-born American painter, primarily of portraits.
