18C American Paintings of Women by John Wollaston 1710-1775

c 1749 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Lucy Parry, Wife of Admiral Parry

English rococo portraitist John Wollaston arrived in New York from England in 1749, where he worked for 2 years. It seems that Wollaston came across the Atlantic specifically to paint portraits and then to return to England.  A contemporary label on his 1751 portrait of colonial William Smith, Jr. refers to  "Johnannes Wollaston Londoniensis." Little is know about his training in England. Charles Willson Peale wrote to his son Rembrandt in 1812, that Wollaston trained in London with a painter of drapery. Wollaston left England just as Neoclassicism, as a reaction against baroque and rococo styles, was spreading throughout England and Europe.

1745-1748 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Portrait of a Lady

He traveled south from New York to paint briefly in Philadelphia in 1752; and, by the winter of 1753, Wollaston moved south to Annapolis, Maryland, and then on to Virginia by 1755. In Annapolis, he painted at least 60 portraits of Marylanders.

1749-52 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Portrait of a Woman

Wollaston's rococo portraits were a hit in Maryland's capital of Annapolis. The March 15, 1753, Maryland Gazette carried the following poem honoring Wollaston.
"On Seeing Mr. Wollaston’s Pictures, in Annapolis," by a Dr. T. T.

Behold the wond’rous Power of Art!
That mocks devouring Time and Death,
Can Nature’s ev’ry Charm impart;
And make the lifeless Canvas breathe.

1749 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Margaret Tudor (Mrs. Richard Nicholls)

In the Chesapeake, he painted the families of many plantation-owning gentry. He returned to the city-life of Philadelphia in 1758, seeking more commissions. Some suggest that he may have sailed for the West Indies from Philadelphia.  In the fall of 1765, he reappeared in the bustling, high-style port city of Charleston, South Carolina, where he painted at least 17 portraits.  Although there is no written record of his associations, Wollaston may have known younger artsts Robert Feke, John Hesselius, and perhaps Benjamine West. He may have known Jeremiah Theus, while he was painting in Charleston. 

1749-52 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Catherine Harris Smith (Mrs. Ebenezer Pemberton)

On January 19, 1767, Wollaston, announced his plans to leave Charleston to return to England, in the South Carolina Gazette:

"The Subscriber intending for England in a few weeks, takes this public method of returning thanks, to all gentlemen and ladies who have been so good to employ him: Those who may have any demands upon him, are desired to bring in their accounts; and of those who are indebted to him he requests the favour they will discharge the same."

1749-1752 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Mrs Joseph Reade

1749-1752 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Mary Walton Morris

1750 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Experience Johnson Mrs Samuel Gouverneur

1750 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Rachel Levy (Mrs Isaac Mendes Seixas) 1719-1797

1750s John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Ann Langdon (Mrs Richard Ayscough)

1750s John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Anne Carter Harrison Randolph (c. 1724-after 1793)

1750s John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Mary Bryant (Mrs William Peartree)

1750s John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Mary Meade Walker

1750s John Wollaston (American Colonial Era artist, 1733-1767) Mrs James Alexander c 1749-60

1751 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Mrs Margaret Chew Bradley

1752 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Dorothy Willing (Mrs. Walter Stirling)

1752 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Mrs Philip Livingston

1752 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Mrs Pontius Stelle

1753-54 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Mrs Daniel Carroll II (1710-1775) & Daniel Carroll (1752-1790)

1754 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Elizabeth Tasker (Mrs Christopher Lowndes)

1754 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Mrs Charles Carroll

1755 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Elizabeth Harrison (Mrs Peyton Randolph)

1756 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Mrs William Allen

1757 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Martha Dandridge (Daniel Parke Custis) (Mrs George Washington)

1758 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Mary Willing (Mrs William Byrd III)

1760 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Mary Carroll Mrs Charles Carroll of Duddington

1765 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Mary Ross Beale.

1765-67 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Lady in Gold Dress from Charleston, South Carolina

1765-67 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Mary Ross Mrs John Beale

John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Frances Tasker (Mrs Robert Carter)

John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Portrait of a Lady

1767 John Wollaston (American colonial era painter, 1710-1775) Ann Gibbes Mrs Edward Thomas