Alexander Spotswood Payne and His Brother John Robert Dandridge Payne, with Their Nurse (Primary Title)
The Payne Limner, American, active ca. 1780 - 1803 (Artist)
Taking residence in the manor house at New Market, a large plantation in Goochland County, Virginia, an unknown artist painted ten portraits of the family of Archer and Martha Payne. This depiction of their son Alexander, his baby brother John, and an enslaved nursemaid is among them.
The obviously self-taught artist, known today as the Payne Limner, struggled with anatomy and composition (evidence of his changes are visible on the canvas). Still, he managed to capture something of his subject’s appearances. He also conveyed the family’s privileged circumstances through setting, clothing, and the addition of the unnamed African American girl, whose legal status as a slave rendered her valuable taxable “property.” Despite recent Revolutionary rhetoric about liberty and freedom – including the famous speech by Archer Payne’s relation Patrick Henry – an economic system based on slave labor would continue in the South for another seventy-five years.
"A Share of Honour," Virginia Women's Cultural History Project, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 8 November, 1984 - 9 January, 1985.
"Small Folk," New-York Historical Society, New York, NY, 25 November, 1980 - 1 February, 1981.
"The American Panorama," The Denver Museum of Art, Denver, CO, 17 March - 27 May , 1968.
"The Negro in American Art," Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME, 15 May - 7 July, 1964.
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.
