Mary Ann Williams

Painting

-

Vermont Historical Society

Name/Title

Mary Ann Williams

Entry/Object ID

2006.6.2

Description

Portrait showing a woman wearing a black dress with a pleated, white lace collar. Around her neck she is wearing a translucent, blue scarf pinned at center front with an oval mourning brooch. The brooch is a black oval with a central portion containing hair held in a woven design. She is wrapped in a paisley shawl and sitting on a red upholstered chair. Her hair is parted in the center and falls in ringlets on either side.

Type of Painting

Easel

Artwork Details

Medium

Oil

Subject Person

Williams, Mary Ann Wentworth Brown (1795-1879)

Acquisition

Accession

2006.6

Source or Donor

Garsh, Lee, Garsh, Brenda

Acquisition Method

Purchase

Credit Line

Lee & Brenda Garsh

Made/Created

Artist

Mason, Benjamin Franklin (1804-1871)

Date made

1840 - 1850

Place

Town

Woodstock

County

Windsor County

State/Province

Vermont

Country

United States of America

Continent

North America

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Portrait

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Painting

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Picture

Nomenclature Class

Art

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Overall (framed)

Height

38 in

Width

32-1/2 in

Interpretative Labels

Label

Mary Ann Williams, c. 1845 Benjamin Franklin Mason (1804-1871) Woodstock, VT Oil on canvas #A-761 Norman and Mary Ann Williams were prominent citizens of Woodstock. He held numerous town, county, and state offices, including a seat on the commission that oversaw the design of the third Vermont State House. Their son, Dr. Edward Williams, built the town library on the site of their home in 1884 and named it after Norman. Benjamin Mason traveled throughout the northern tier of the United States producing portraits of many prominent citizens. He's known to have visited Woodstock a number of times and later owned a home in the town near the end of his life.