Luce Foundation Center for American Art
Painting: 18th century: Polly Ouldfield of Winyah
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Polly Ouldfield of Winyah about 1761 Jeremiah Theüs oil on canvas 30 1/8 x 25 1/8 in. (76.5 x 63.8 cm) Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of International Business Machines Corporation 1969.130 |
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Polly Ouldfield was born into a life of privilege. Her father was a member of the Commons House of Assembly in London, and records indicate that he owned land in Georgetown in 1752. Polly's husband was a landowner from Charleston, South Carolina, who served as Commissary of Militia in the Georgetown District during the Revolutionary War. (Middleton, Jeremiah Theüs: Colonial Artist of Charles Town, 1953) In this portrait the landscape beyond the window suggests the Ouldfields' significant landholdings, and Polly's luminous, lace-trimmed silk dress embellished with decorative pearls also conveys the richness of planter society. Jeremiah Theüs often showed his subjects lit from above, as in this portrait. |
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The life of Mary "Polly "Ouldfield
Regarding the portrait of Polly Ouldfield by Jeremiah Theus c. 1761 Mary “Polly” Ouldfield was Born in South Carolina in 1744. The portrait done around the year of her marriage, 1761 when she was about age 17 Her Father was John Ouldfield Jr 1706-1752, her Mother was Anne LaRoche 1721-1795. She was narried Nov 5 1761 at Winyah Georgetown SC to her husband Robert Heriot, 1739-1792 Posted by Emily Iland from Los Angeles March 6, 2011 |
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