Elizabeth Beltzhoover Mason (c. 1803–5): Art, History and Details

Elizabeth Beltzhoover Mason (c. 1803–5) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Gilbert Stuart (American, born The Thirteen Colonies, 1755–1828).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The sitter’s high-waisted dress, pearl necklace, and elegant hairstyle of cascading ringlets reflect the height of fashion around 1800. Her gaze is assured: her chin is tilted upward but her eyes peer down with confidence. Mason’s husband was a prosperous lawyer, an influential figure in President Thomas Jefferson’s administration, and a plantation owner in Maryland. According to an inventory from 1807, the couple enslaved approximately 185 people, ranging from the newborn Abraham to 79-year-old Rachel. The family’s wealth afforded Mason the opportunity to be painted by Gilbert Stuart, a much sought-after portraitist.

Object facts

• Title: Elizabeth Beltzhoover Mason
• Date: c. 1803–5
• Creator attribution: Gilbert Stuart (American, born The Thirteen Colonies, 1755–1828)
• Culture: America
• Type: Painting
• Technique: oil on canvas
• Dimensions: Framed: 90 x 78 x 8 cm (35 7/16 x 30 11/16 x 3 1/8 in.); Unframed: 73.8 x 61 cm (29 1/16 x 24 in.)
• Collection: American - Painting
• Department: American Painting and Sculpture
• Accession number: 1921.428

A detail from the museum

Stuart also painted a portrait of George Washington, now immortalized on the dollar bill.

Collection credit

Gift from J. H. Wade

Further reading listed by the museum

• Washington County Museum of Fine Arts. American Painting Before 1865: An Exhibition September 4th to 26th, 1937. Hagerstown, MD: The Museum,
• Park, Lawrence, John Hill Morgan, and Royal Cortissoz. Gilbert Stuart; An Illustrated Descriptive List of His Works. New York: W.E. Rudge, 1926.
• Washington County Museum of Fine Arts. American Painting Before 1865: An Exhibition September 4th to 26th, 1937. Hagerstown, MD: The Museum, 1937.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.