Martha Washington
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of an anonymous donor
Accession Number
NPG.75.3
Tags
HatInterior with Exterior ViewMartha Dandridge Custis Washington: FemaleFirst Lady of USPortrait
About this artwork
Born New Kent County, Virginia In 1749, Martha Dandridge married Daniel Parke Custis, the wealthiest planter in the colony. Seven years and four children later, she was a very wealthy widow. She married George Washington in 1759, pulling him upward in Virginiaâs social and economic strata. She also brought to the marriage 84 enslaved people, who, as part of the Custis estate, would not be freed when George Washington freed his own slaves at the end of his life. Martha Washington was influentia...