called Mrs. Hannah Ludwell Lee (Mrs. Thomas Lee, 1701-1750) and children

Date: 1735-1744

The woman in the portrait bears a strong resemblance to the Hannah Ludwell Lee (Mrs. Thomas Lee) portrait by Charles Bridges. It may very well represent her and two of her children, including Hannah Lee (later Mrs. Gawen Corbin, 1728-1782). It has also been identified by descendants as Frances Grymes Ludwell (Mrs. Philip Ludwell III) of Greensprings with two of her children, Hannah Philippa (later Mrs. William Lee, 1737-1784) and Frances (1740-1768). Hannah Ludwell Lee inherited the Ludwell family portraits from Greensprings when her brother, Philip Ludwell III, settled permanently in England in 1760. They moved to Stratford Hall.

Dimensions: 49 x 39 in. (124.46 x 99.06 cm.)

The portrait represents a woman with two children. The woman wears a blue dress. A very young child wearing a simple white gown with flowers in her hair, is curled in the woman’s lap and points to her mother. A slightly older child stands next to the woman. That child wears a green gown and offers the woman a peach. The woman points to the peach with her left hand. She is turned towards her left but looks away towards her right. The children both look out of the painting. Behind the mother is a red curtain and behind the older child is a view to the outdoors.

See: MESDA Database, S-3805

Location: Unknown
Decade: 1730s1740s
Credits: Private collection, MESDA Object Database, record S-3805, Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA), Winston-Salem, NC.