Eleanor (Nelly) Parke Custis (later Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis, 1779–1852) Artist: John Trumbull (American, 1756–1843)

1792

American Paintings and Sculpture

On view, 2nd floor, American Art before 1900


In 1792, John Trumbull painted Eleanor (Nelly) Parke Custis, who was Martha Washington’s granddaughter, in Philadelphia as part of a set of miniatures in preparation for The Resignation of General Washington (1832.8). She stands to the left of Martha in the finished painting. Nelly, who was thirteen years old at the time Trumbull painted this miniature, was raised in Washington's household after her father's death. She later married Lawrence Lewis, the son of Washington's sister.

Medium

Oil on wood

Dimensions

3 7/8 × 3 1/4 in. (9.8 × 8.3 cm)

Credit Line

Trumbull Collection

Accession Number

1832.55

Culture

American

Period

18th century

Classification

Miniatures

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Bibliography
  • Helen A. Cooper et al., Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: American Art from the Yale University Art Gallery, exh. cat. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 2008), 103, no. 45, ill
  • Helen A. Cooper et al., John Trumbull: The Hand and Spirit of a Painter (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 1982), 129, pl. 51-55
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Object/Work type

miniatures (paintings), portraits

Subject

dresses girls gowns hair hairstyles women

Signed

Signed verso: "Eleanor Custis/Grand daughter [sic] of/Mrs. Washington/Painted.1792/by J. Trumbull/at Philadelphia."

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