Object details
Object number
ARC1982.1.1
Creator(s)
George Washington
(Westmoreland, Virginia, 1732 - 1799, Mount Vernon, Virginia)
Title
Letter to John Lowell
Date
30 September 1789
Medium
Ink on paper
Language
English
Signatures, inscriptions, and markings
Inscribed in ink (verso): For Cha R. Lowell / This invaluable / document / from his loving father / August 1860 (?)
Inscribed in ink (verso): Octo. 11th 1865 Received of / Char. R. Lowell by / John Lowell Gardner Jun-/ its former possessor
Provenance
Letter from President George Washington (1732-1799) to John Lowell (1743-1802) about his commission as a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Probably by inheritance to John Lowell's daughter Rebecca Russell Gardner (1779-1853) in 1802.
Probably by inheritance to Rebecca Russell Gardner's brother Charles Russell Lowell, Sr. (1782-1861) in 1853.
Gift from Charles Russell Lowell, Sr. to his son Charles R. Lowell, Jr. (1807-1870) in 1860.
Gift from Charles Russell Lowell, Jr. to Isabella Stewart Gardner's husband, John Lowell Gardner, Jr. (1837-1898) in1865.
By inheritance to John Lowell Gardner, Jr.'s nephew, John Lowell Gardner II (1867-1938) in1898. Physically delivered by Isabella Stewart Gardner in 1901.
By inheritance to John Lowell Gardner, II's grand-nephew, John Lowell Gardner (1923-2021) in 1938.
Gift from John Lowell Gardner to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1982. (with ARC.007218)
Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.
Bibliography
Anthony Amore, "Forge Washington," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 29 June 2021, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/forge-washington
Gallery
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