A loving grandfather who indulged his step-granddaughter with a dazzling new paint set... An artistic young woman who skillfully colored the illustrations of plants and animals in a natural history book...
These may not be the images of the Washington family that immediately spring to mind, considering the day-to-day tasks required to keep the estate running smoothly. However, these objects in the Mount Vernon collection paint a clear picture of how the Washingtons spent their leisure time.
![Paint box: Gift: Jess and Grace Pavey Fund, 2013 (W-5326/A-U); Journal: Courtesy of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (photographs by Mark Finkenstaedt)](https://mtv-drupal-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/files/resources/nelly_04.jpg?VersionId=ZNvhP4vJd.9.zxQkD0ywEQF0n3mehmTX)
Preserved in extraordinary condition, this watercolor set was manufactured by Thomas Reeves & Sons, an artist supply company based in London. Nelly's model was the most elaborate offered by the firm, featuring 40 cakes of paint, ivory and ceramic mixing palettes, an ivory brush holder, and glass bowls, all nested in compartments within a wooden case adorned with inlaid decoration.
A highlight of Mount Vernon's collection, this paint box tells important stories about Nelly Custis's education and artistic talents-- and more broadly about elite women's education in the new Republic. Like many well-bred young ladies of her time, Nelly was privileged to take drawing and painting lessons. Her artistic and musical accomplishments were much admired by acquaintances and visitors to Mount Vernon. Polish nobleman Julian Niemcewicz, for example, wrote that Nelly "draws better than any woman in America or even in Europe."
![Excerpt from Journal of a Voyage to South Wales (Wikimedia)](https://mtv-drupal-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/files/resources/journal_of_a_voyage_to_new_south_wales_17276079853.jpg?VersionId=9WiYDWeSajO3JZA1fX3o7D0TqPwUxYQo)
Curatorial Staff, 2016
Paint cup
![](https://mtv-drupal-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/files/styles/card_block/s3/callout/card-subpage/image/di-0066-6-m-2967-a-e.jpg?VersionId=Fj8hk5pJY2p5gT4Pe8_WQGx6TCKeRL63&itok=geMeLpk8)
Likely repurposed watch glasses, these tiny glass cups may have been used by Nelly to prepare watercolors.
Painting of a House
![](https://mtv-drupal-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/files/styles/card_block/s3/callout/card-subpage/image/di-0058-1-2002017.jpg?VersionId=kgwHBwelTCgtIc6EHesdYp9d1HrBM9lJ&itok=5ayKZ61D)
Nelly received an exceptional education that included drawing lessons with British landscape artist William Groombridge (1748-1811) in 1794. This watercolor of a frame house may be a product of those lessons.
Memorial picture
![](https://mtv-drupal-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/files/styles/card_block/s3/callout/card-subpage/image/di-0307-1-w-3614.jpg?VersionId=4GK3XgG85mIlWFTU6nqKdbB1Qa5X62mC&itok=p8SMag4E)
According to family tradition, Eleanor "Nelly" Parke Custis, granddaughter of Martha Washington, painted this picture in memory of her cousin, Frances "Fanny" Bassett Washington Lear, who died in 1796.