00;00;00;03 - 00;00;12;17
Martin Tebo
I'm Martin Tebo, and this is the Owsley moment, brought to you by the David Owsley Museum of Art, the Ball State School of Art and IPR.

00;00;12;20 - 00;00;33;28
Martin Tebo
American artist Gilbert Stewart was the most sought out portraitist of his era. He became famous for his many images of George Washington, including the portrait reproduced on the dollar bill. The David Owsley Museum of Art houses his portrait of Anne Eliza Alston. This painting depicts 17 year old Anne, the daughter of Benjamin Alston, a South Carolina rice plantation owner.

00;00;34;00 - 00;00;51;23
Martin Tebo
When the portrait was painted, Alston was living in Washington, D.C. with her cousin Benjamin Huger, a South Carolina congressman.

00;00;51;26 - 00;01;16;23
Martin Tebo
As was typical for portraiture in Stewart's day. He depicted Alston in front of a neoclassical column, billowing curtains and a distant blue sky with fluffy white and gray clouds. She sits on a finely upholstered, backless bench with her back straight, arms crossed and her dark eyes staring engagingly at the viewer. She is dressed in the latest French Empire fashion, a dress with a low cut fitted bodice and a high waisted, flowing long skirt.

00;01;16;25 - 00;01;43;14
Martin Tebo
Alston wears a golden, shimmering silk shawl gracefully draped around her arms and back. Stewart's portrait communicates Alston's refinement and the elite social status she enjoyed as a member of a powerful South Carolina family.

00;01;43;16 - 00;01;47;11
Martin Tebo
We'd like to thank Ball State student Samantha Kirchner for her research.

00;01;47;14 - 00;01;59;17
Martin Tebo
Find more information and listen to Past Moments online at Indiana Public radio dot org slash Owsley moment. And to learn more about the David Owsley Museum of Art, visit BSU dot edu slash DOMA.