Bowdoin College Museum of Art | - Portrait of Mrs. James Bowdoin III (née Sarah Bowdoin)

Preview image of work. oil on canvas, Portrait of Mrs. James Bowdoin III (née Sarah Bowdoin) 280

1870.7

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Portrait of Mrs. James Bowdoin III (née Sarah Bowdoin)

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Artist

Gilbert Stuart (North Kingstown, Rhode Island, 1755 - 1828, Boston, Massachusetts)

Title

Portrait of Mrs. James Bowdoin III (née Sarah Bowdoin)

Creation Date

ca. 1805

Century

early 19th century

Dimensions

30 1/8 in. x 25 3/16 in. (76.52 cm x 63.98 cm)

Object Type

painting

Creation Place

North America, United States

Medium and Support

oil on canvas

Credit Line

Bequest of Mrs. Sarah Bowdoin Dearborn

Copyright

Public Domain

Accession Number

1870.7

Gilbert Stuart likely painted this portrait of Sarah Bowdoin prior to her departure with her husband on his diplomatic mission to Europe in 1805. She wears an elegant high-waisted dress with a silk ruff in the latest fashion. The lace veil, or mantilla, that gracefully covers her head and shoulders was popular with Spanish women and anticipates her residence in Spain. After the death of James Bowdoin III in 1811, Sarah married Henry Dearborn, a Revolutionary War veteran and Thomas Jefferson’s secretary of war. Sarah Bowdoin was integral in preserving the Bowdoin family’s collection of Stuart portraits.

Keywords: portraits