Gilbert Stuart (American, 1755-1828). Portrait of Mrs. Jonathan Mason (Susannah Powell Mason), Circa 1805. Oil on canvas, (30.5 x 25.25 inches). The reverse affixed with three labels inscribed in the same hand: "Mrs. Jonathan Mason/ 1760-1836/ Susannah Powell, daughter/ of William & Mary (Bromfield) Powell/ This painting is a/ Replica by Gilbert Stuart/ Painted in Washington in 1805." Another label is inscribed "Mr. Courtlandt Parker/ 133 Marlboro St./ 4. Frame." The frame with label for Haley & Steele/ Art Dealers/ 109 St. James Ave./ Boston, Mass.Provenance:The sitter, Susannah Powell Mason (1760-1836)To her daughter, Anna Powell Mason Grant (1788-1861)To her son, Patrick Grant (1809-1895)To his daughter, Flora Grant Gray (1858-1920) and her husband, Morris Gray (1856-1931), President of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1914-1924To their daughter, Elizabeth Gray Parker (1886-1969) and her husband, Cortlandt Parker (1884-1960)To their son, Cortlandt Parker, Jr. (1921-2002) and his wife, Nancy Parker (1929-2015)To their children, the present ownersLiterature: Lawrence Park, "Gilbert Stuart: An Illustrated Descriptive List of His Works," Vol. II, New York: William Edwin Rudge, 1926, no. 533, pp. 512-513. This portrait is listed as a replica owned by Mrs. Morris Gray, the sitter's great granddaughter.Notes:Gilbert Stuart painted his pair of portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Mason in Washington, D.C. where Jonathan Mason was serving as U.S. Senator from Massachusetts. During this period, Stuart also painted portraits of the Mason's daughters, Anna Powell Mason and Miriam Clark Mason, as well as this replica of his portrait of Susannah and a similar smaller version, now in the collection of the Harvard Art Museums.Jonathan Mason persuaded Stuart to move to Boston in 1805, assuring the artist he would have a plentiful clientele in the city. The Mason's patronage of Stuart continued, including portraits of their third daughter, Susan Powell Mason, along with sons-in-law, David Sears and Dr. John Collins Warren. Jonathan Mason also owned one of Gilbert Stuart's "Athenaeum" portraits of George Washington painted circa 1820 and now in the collection of the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design.133 Marlborough St. in Boston's Back Bay was purchased by Mrs. Morris Gray in 1912 and remained in the family until 1935. Her daughter, Elizabeth, married Courtlandt Parker, a career military officer in 1918. They lived at various posts across the country, using Marlborough St. as a permanent address. Parker's name and the Marlborough St. address listed on one of the portrait's labels indicate a date between 1918-1935 for the frame.Sources:-Back Bay Houses.org (Genealogies of Back Bay Houses)-Carrie Rebora Barratt and Ellen G. Miles, Exhibition Catalogue "Gilbert Stuart," 2004-2005. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004, pp. 162, 241-42, 287, 303, fig. 137.

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