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Gilbert Stuart (American, 1755–1828)
Elizabeth Parke Custis Law, 1796
Oil on canvas; 28 1/4 x 23 1/2 in. (71.8 x 59.7 cm)
Collection of Katherine S. Merle-Smith
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Elizabeth Parke Custis Law (1776–1831), whose father, John Custis, died during the Revolutionary War, grew up extremely close to her grandparents George and Martha Washington. Eliza, as she was known, accompanied George Washington to Stuart's painting room when he was sitting for the Athenaeum portrait. Stuart painted her in February 1796, shortly before her marriage to Thomas Law, an Englishman twice her age. According to family lore, the artist portrayed her in the manner in which she stood watching him paint her grandfather.
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