Priscilla Cobb Smith
Date1824
Artist
Bass Otis
(American painter and lithographer, 1784–1861)
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions30 x 25 in. (76.2 x 63.5 cm)
frame: 39 3/8 x 34 3/8 in. (100 x 87.3 cm)
frame: 39 3/8 x 34 3/8 in. (100 x 87.3 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. David Stockwell, 1973
Object number1973-121
On View
On viewCollections
ClassificationsPAINTING
Label TextPriscilla Cobb came from a prosperous Mississippi family. According to local lore, her parents did not approve of her decision to wed Calvin Smith, who was still clearing the land for his farm near Natchez, Mississippi—then a Spanish land grant. Calvin Smith and Priscilla Cobb eloped and were married on May 25, 1791. Her family eventually forgave them, and the Smiths became wealthy plantation owners, with many enslaved people working their land. They had several children, and these portraits, painted by a Philadelphia artist, were likely made when visiting their daughter Louise Rolston, who settled in that city.
