Portrait of Susannah Maybank Reid (1735-1821)
Watercolor on Heavy Paper Stock
Unknown Artist after Jeremiah Theus (1716-1774)
Charleston, South Carolian
Circa 1820-1830
Sheet Size 20” x 26”
Overall 27” x 33”
This charming watercolor of Susannah Reid is clearly related to her portrait painted by Jeremiah Theus in Charleston circa 1760 shortly after she married Dr. James Reid which now on view at the Edmonston-Alston House. The watercolor was likely painted after the Theus oil portrait for one of her children, possibly at her passing, as a part of dividing heirlooms among family members. It is painted on heavy, wove paper which was not commonly available in America until the last decades of the 18th century so it is possible but not likely that Theus himself painted this watercolor as a study or copy. The average size of a “super Royal” sheet of American paper 1789-1804 was approximately 20” x 25” depending upon the extent of deckle edge. (John Bidwell: The Size of the Sheet in America, and the American Antiquarian Society.)
