The Coming of the Maidens as Wives for the Settlers
Artist
George Cooke
(American, 1793 - 1849)
Dateca. 1830
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsOverall: 28 x 36 in. (71.1 x 91.4 cm)
Overall, Frame: 37 x 45 in. (94 x 114.3 cm)
Overall, Frame: 37 x 45 in. (94 x 114.3 cm)
ClassificationsAmerican art
Credit LineGift of Alpheus J. Chewning
Object number90.67
Terms
- Women
- Settlers
- U.S. history
On View
Not on viewLabel TextGeorge Cooke American (1793-1849) The Coming of the Maidens as Wives for the Settlers, ca. 1830 Oil on canvas Gift of Alpheus J. Chewning 90.67 George Cooke was a portrait, historical and landscape painter with strong Virginia connections. He married Maria Heath from Richmond and spent the outset of his career engaged in portraying Virginians. The Coming of the Maidens as Wives for the Settlers, painted around 1830, represents the young artist's desire to work in the more elevated category of history painting. The subject matter is distinctly regional and depicts the Virginia Company's initiative around 1619-20 to recruit young women from England as brides for the men of the struggling colony in Jamestown. Married couples earned the right to build a house for themselves, while bachelors continued to bunk in barracks. Cooke has chosen the moment of arrival, and the depiction reflects none of the harsh realities of the actual experience. The ownership of the painting also has prominent Virginia ties. It was commissioned by William Henry Clark to honor his marriage to Elvira Henry, who was Patrick Henry's granddaughter. It originally hung in the living room of Bannister Lodge in Halifax County and descended to Alpheus Chewning III, who generously donated it to the Museum. The painting, in relating an episode from the early history of Virginia, enhances the Museum's ability to provide a visual record, albeit romanticized, of the state's colonial beginnings. Edited By: GLY
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