Surviving written records indicate that both men and women retreated to the garden to read and to study. From one end of the colonies to the other, from Philip Fithian in Virginia, to Margarita Schuyler in New York, young and old alike sought th
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e quiet of the garden to read books. Artists also portrayed their clients reading in gardens. It is usually difficult to determine whether the subject of a painting in 18th century America is in a natural setting or is placed in an artificial setting created by the artist. Unfortunately these details are from reproductions of these portraits, so visiting the museum is the only way to really evaluate each painting.Between 1750-1760, John Badger portrayed two women reading in their gardens. A portrait of Mrs. John Edwards (Abigail Fowle) is in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. And another portrait of Mrs. Nathaniel Brown (Anna Porter Brown) by Badger from the same time period is at the San Francisco Fine Arts Museum.
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Benjamin West also painted Mrs. George Ross (Anne Lawler) reading outdoors in 1755, in a portrait now at the Leonard and Mildred Rothman Gallery, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. West and other artists often copied settings and poses from English prints which were widely available in the colonies by mid-century. The composition of this particular painting is reminiscent of mezzotint portraits in the tradition of Sir Peter Lely (1618–160) and Sir Godfre
y Kneller (1646–1723).In 1767, James Claypoole pictured Mrs. Joseph Pemberton (Ann Galloway) holding a book in her garden. Claypoole was also known to rely on poses from English mezzotints such as Joshua Reynold's portrait of Lady Caroline Russell from 1760. But here Ann's dress is a little plain and old fashioned for th
e period, suggesting that Claypoole also wove contemporary clothes and settings into his borrowed poses. The painting is owned by the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
e period, suggesting that Claypoole also wove contemporary clothes and settings into his borrowed poses. The painting is owned by the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.In some paintings, entire families are posed in garden settings. William Williams painted The Wiley Family in New York, in 1771. The family matriarch sits in the center, flanked by her two daughters. The older daughter holds a book and a pet squirrel, often a symbol of patience which might also allude to her being of marriageable age. Williams' depiction of an idyllic colonial garden suggests that either he or his subjects wanted to be seen as calmly prospering in the British American colonies, even as revolution was bubbling up around them. Williams would flee to England in 1776. The painting was a gift to the Smithsonian Institution from Diane and Norman Bernstein.
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A print of Da
rtmouth from 1770, shows a class of young men in an open air classroom.
rtmouth from 1770, shows a class of young men in an open air classroom.Around 1786, artist Ralph Earl returned to America from England and began portraying literate women holding a books or needlework emphasizing female accomplishment. He painted Esther Boardm
an in a New England garden holding a book.
an in a New England garden holding a book. Maryland artist who died at the age of 25, George William West, painted Mrs Francis Utie Holland (Sybil West) reading in a garden in the early 1790s. The painting is at the Maryland Historical Society. Also in Maryland, in 1793, James Peale, the younger brother of Charles Willson Peale, painted the women of The Ramsey Polk Family at Carpenter's Point, Maryland, in a garden setting with one holding an opened book.
In 1798, William Clarke painted Mrs. William Frazer in Delaware, lounging near the sea with an open book in her hand. During the 1790s through the early 19th century, woodcuts, watercolors, and oils depicted people studying or teaching in gardens.
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