Curatorial Acquisition Highlights

Peter Family Collection
We are thrilled to report that in 2020 Mount Vernon had the exciting opportunity to purchase the finest privately owned collection of original Washington artifacts—carefully stewarded by Martha Washington’s namesake granddaughter, Martha (Patty) Parke Custis Peter of Tudor Place in Georgetown, and then by generations of her descendants. The Peter Family Collection contains nearly 100 remarkable items, highlighted by such treasures as Martha’s own gold, enamel, and diamond-studded watch and her French chair; several pieces of presidential china; rare examples of 18th-century glassware; neoclassical silver tea wares; the documented silver and coral baby’s rattle given by Martha Washington to her first great-grandchild; the child’s dressing table sent to the Washingtons by the Marquise de Lafayette; and a unique portrait plaque depicting General Washington in porcelain, given to the president on his 1790 tour of the southern states. This unparalleled assemblage promises a transformational impact on our collection, scholarship, and interpretation of life at George and Martha Washington’s Mount Vernon. As this landmark opportunity arose late in 2020, fundraising continues in 2021. We look forward to publishing a full record of the collection and its supporters in the 2021 Annual Report. Many items will be featured in the reinstalled Donald W. Reynolds Museum galleries in February 2022.

Portrait of Elizabeth Willing Powel, attributed to Joseph Wright, c. 1793. Acquired through the generosity of an anonymous donor, pictured above in slide one.

Marble bust of George Washington, carved c. 1816 by Massimiliano Ravenna after a life sculpture by Giuseppe Ceracchi. Purchase, pictured above in slide two

George Washington mantel ornament, cut glass with sulphide bust, made by Bakewell, Page & Bakewell, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, c. 1825. Acquired through the generosity of the Frank L. and Sarah Miller Coulson Foundation

Rococo silver teakettle, stand, and burner, made by Samuel Courtauld, London, 1753–1754, for George William and Sally Fairfax of Belvoir. Gift of James C. and Virginia W. Meade, pictured above in slide three

Fragment of cream brocaded dress silk, 1780–1800, with tradition of ownership by Martha Washington. Gift of Anne Bennett
Engraving, His Excellency General Washington/Lady Washington, c. 1785. Purchased by the A. Alfred Taubman Acquisition Endowment Fund

Silk embroidered picture, In Memory of Gen. Geo. Washington, after Samuel Seymour, c. 1820. Purchased by the A. Alfred Taubman Acquisition Endowment Fund

Iron strong box, 17th century. Gift of Kurt and Nicol Colicchio

Reproduction of George Washington’s uncommon chair, made by Harrison Higgins, Inc., Barry Barlow, Horton Brasses, and Thomas A. Snyder, 2020. Acquired through the generosity of Robert J. and Geraldine W. Dellenback

A Map of the District of Columbia and Surrounding Country, printed handkerchief, 1933. Purchased by the Mary F. Barnes Acquisition Endowment Fund

Transfer-printed plate, 1833, depicting statue of George Washington by Antonio Canova. Purchased by the A. Alfred Taubman Acquisition Endowment Fund, 2020

Transfer-printed plate, depicting Mount Vernon, made by Mellor, Venables, & Co., 1839–1851. Gift of an anonymous donor
Apotheosis of Washington, lithograph by Heinrich Weishaupt, Munich, 1830–1850. Purchased by the Mary F. Barnes Acquisition Endowment Fund

George Washington Bicentennial banner, 1932. Purchased by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Books and Manuscripts Endowment

Twelve Fitzhugh pattern Chinese export porcelain plates, 1780–1790. Gift of Keith Dietrich

Selected Loans to the Association
The Association is grateful to the many individuals and institutions that have placed on loan to Mount Vernon original art, artifacts, books, documents, and period objects. We would like to acknowledge in particular the following items: 

For display in the special exhibition, Lives Bound Together: Slavery at George Washington’s Mount Vernon
Last Will and Testament of George Washington, July 9, 1799,
pp. 2, 13. Courtesy of Fairfax County Circuit Court

Memorandum of Sale of Washington’s Slaves from property in Pennsylvania, written by Thomas Freeman, October 5, 1786. Articles of agreement between George Washington and William Garner, December 10, 1788.
The George Washington Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Declaration of Independence, printed in The Remembrancer, London, 1776.
U.S. Constitution (Connecticut printing), c. September 1787.
Minutes of the Proceedings of the Second Convention of Delegates from the Abolition Societies, Philadelphia, 1795.
Robert E. Lee to William A. Winston, July 12, 1858.
Courtesy of Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Additional loans to the Association
Silver Owned by George and Martha Washington

Teapot, made by Joseph Richardson, Philadelphia, c. 1795. Courtesy of an anonymous lender

Waste bowl, made by Joseph Richardson, Philadelphia, c. 1795. Courtesy of a Custis descendant

Spoon, made by Thompson Davis, London, 1762–1763.
Spoon, made by Richard Humphreys, Philadelphia, 1780.
Meat skewer, made by Ephraim Brasher, New York, c. 1790.
Courtesy of a George Washington Parke Custis descendant

John Parke Custis and Eleanor Calvert Wedding Silver, London, 1773–1775
Dish cross, made by Burrage Davenport.
Cann, made by Charles Wright.
Plate and pudding dish, made by John Carter II.
Courtesy of a George Washington Parke Custis descendant

Salver, made by John Carter II.
Sugar basket and tea caddy, made by William Sumner.
Courtesy of a Custis descendant

Cup and cover, made by John Carter II.
Courtesy of a Custis descendant

Additional Washington Family Items
Portrait of Eliza Parke Custis Law, by Gilbert Stuart, c. 1796. Courtesy of Barton and Susan Merle-Smith

Walnut breakfast table, early 18th century, and three drinking glasses. Courtesy of a George Washington Parke Custis descendant

Adonis Carried Off by Venus, engraved by John Browne, after Herman Van Swanevelt, 1791. Courtesy of an anonymous lender