John Parke Custis (1754-1781) and Martha Parke Custis (1756-1773)

Date: 1757

“Jacky” and “Patsy” Custis were the children of Daniel and Martha Dandridge Custis.

Reference: A 1757 receipt for 56 pistoles to pay for this portrait, and portraits of their parents, is in the Custis Family Papers, Virginia Historical Society.

Dimensions: 50 x 40 in. (127 x 1016. cm.)

The subjects appear outdoors in a landscape. A little girl is seated on the right of the composition. She wears a silver grown with lace and a ribbon in her hair. She holds pink roses in her lap. A little boy stands next to her and is posed as if walking. His left arm is outstretched and a red cardinal sits on his wrist. He wears a blue jacket and trousers over a silver waistcoat.

Family: Custis
Decade: 1750s
Credits: Courtesy of Washington and Lee University, University Collections of Art and History, U1918.1.3.