Collection search - Demasduit (Mary March) [graphic material]

Record information – Brief
1
Demasduit (Mary March) [graphic material]

Hierarchical level:

Item

Date:

1819.

Reference:

R5293-0-4-E, Box number: MIN-035

Type of material:

Art

Found in:

Archives / Collections and Fonds

Item ID number:

2837235

Context of this record:

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Demasduit (Mary March)
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Record information – Details
Date(s):

1819.

Bilingual equivalent:

Click here

Place of creation:

Newfoundland and Labrador

Extent:

1 painting (miniature) : watercolour on ivory ; 7.7 x 6.5 cm (support).
Support 7.500 x 6.500 cm

Language of material:

English

Scope and content:

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Item consists of a miniature portrait of Demasduit, also known as Mary March, Shendoreth, Waunathoake, by Lady Henrietta Martha Hamilton. Demasduit is reputed to be one of the last members of the now extinct Beothuk tribe of Newfoundland. Demasduit was born in the interior of Newfoundland, possibly in the Exploits River area. First encounters with European settlers and fishermen had been hostile, and later friendly contact with the Beothuks was encouraged and worth potential reward. Altercations continued and in March 1819, a group of fishermen led by John Peyton set out to recover articles stolen from them by the Boethuks the previous fall. Demasduit was captured by them and her husband Nonosbawsut was killed. Her newborn baby was abandoned in the struggle and subsequently died. Brought to St. John's Newfoundland a few months later, her portrait was painted by Lady Henrietta Hamilton, the wife of the governor of Newfoundland, Sir Charles Hamilton. The governor ordered that she be returned to her people, and several attempts to do so were made from June until December of 1819. Demasduit died of tuberculosis on January 8, 1820 before seeing her home again.

Additional name(s):

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Artist: Hamilton, Henrietta Martha Drummond, Lady, ca. 1780-1857

Biography/Administrative history:

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Hamilton, Henrietta Martha Drummond, Lady, ca. 1780-1857 : Lady Henrietta Martha Drummond (ca. 1780-1857) was the daughter of George Drummond of Stanmore, County Middlesex, bank of Charing Cross, London. She married 19 April 1803 to Charles Hamilton (1767-1849), a British naval captain who later rose to be Vice-Admiral, and elevated to the peerage as a Baronet in 1837. In 1818, Sir Charles Hamilton, then a Vice-Admiral, was appointed to the post of Governor of Newfoundland and Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Station, his term ending in 1824. Nothing is known of her artistic training, although she was known as an amateur painter in Newfoundland.

She died on 10 March 1857, in London, England.

Miniaturist, Painter. Hardy, Christian and Marshall, Ingeborg, "The Newfoundland Quarterly", Vol. 76, no. 1, Spring 1980; Burant, Jim et al. A Place in History, Exhibition Catalogue, National Archives of Canada, 1991.

Additional information:

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General note:

Colour transparencies depict recto, support, and recto in frame.
"Demasduit (Mary March)" (Caption title, Canadian History Hall).

Note on the state of conservation:

Feb. 1977 - the work seems in good condition. The ivory is warped from being glued down on one side., Aug. 1977 - the frame was conserved at CC1, compare C-097697 (before) and C-092599 (after)., Feb. 1977 - the work is glued to a card and in a gold wooden frame., Aug. 1977 - Frame restored, it is now black instead of gold (see restoration history).

Custodial history:

Acquired from the art dealer Harold L. Medjuck, Halifax Nova Scotia. The miniature was once in the possession of the Rennie family of St. John's Newfoundland.

Availability of other formats note:

Colour transparency available.

Reproduction note:

A reproduction of this painting was made for Canadian History Hall, 2017.07.01.

Exhibitions note:

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Exhibition title: Official Opening of the Mary March Museum. Curators: Mary March Regional Museum, Grand Falls, Newfoundland; 1977.09.24 -1977.10.17., Exhibition title: Newfoundland Interior: 1770-1900. Curators: Edward Tompkins, Newfoundland Museum, St. John's, Newfoundland; 1986.06.08 - 1986.08.14., Exhibition Title: A Place in History - Twenty Years of Acquiring Paintings, Drawings and Prints. Curator: Jim Burant, National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; 1990.10.30-1991.03.31., Exhibition Title: Facing History - Portraits from the National Archives of Canada. Curators: Lydia Foy, Sylvie Gervais, Peter Robertson, National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; 1993.05.27-1993.09.08., Exhibition title: Small Wonders... / De petites merveilles.... Curators: Martha Marleau, National Archives of Canada, cat. no.: 9b. Further venue: National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario: 1995.02.13-1995.06.26., Exhibition Title: Treasured Memories 1: A National Archives of Canada Exhibition [125th Anniversary of the National Archives]. Curator: Martin Tétreault, National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; 1997.05.14-1998.01.31, "Newfoundland Interior: 1960-1900," April 15-August 30, 1986. Government of Newfoundland., Exhibition title: I Know You by Heart: Portrait Miniatures / Je vous connais par coeur : portraits en miniature. Curator: Johanna Mizgala. Library and Archives Canada Exhibition. New Brunswick Museum, Saint John, New Brunswick; 2012.09.20 - 2012.12.31., Further venue: Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; 2013.03.22 -2013.06.02., Exhibition Title: Treasured Memories 1: A National Archives of Canada Exhibition [125th Anniversary of the National Archives]. Curator: Martin Tétreault, National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; 1997.05.14-1998.01.31, Exhibition Title: Treasured Memories 2: A National Archives of Canada Exhibition. [125th Anniversary of the National Archives]. Curator: Martin Tétreault, National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; 1998.02.01 - 1998.03.01, Exhibition title: Ladylikeness: Historical Portraits of Women by Women. Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta; 2019.03.08 - 2020.01.05.

Signatures and inscriptions note:

Inscription: Inscribed on backing paper, verso of frame: Mary March / a Female Native / Indian of the / Red Indians who / inhabit Newfound / land painted by / Lady Hamilton / 18

Container note(s):

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C-087698 : recto, support
Subject heading:

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Portraits

Aboriginal

Miniature

SUBJ. - Portrait : Mary March - Aboriginal Female, 1819
Source:

Private

Related control no.:

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1977-014 PIC

Other accession no.:

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1977-014 PIC
00001
Ordering and viewing options

Conditions of access:

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Graphic (art)

[Consultation90 Open]
To be viewed with the assistance of the Portrait Gallery of Canada

Box [1977-014]

[Consultation 90 Open]

MIN-035 Item no. assigned by LAC 1

[Consultation 90 Open]

Copy negative [1977-014]

[Consultation 90 Open]

C-087698 Item no. assigned by LAC 1

[Consultation 90 Open]

Terms of use:

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Credit: Library and Archives Canada / acc. no. 1977-14-1
Copyright: Expired
Restrictions on use: None

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