Existing comment:
Mann Page (1749-1803) and his sister Elizabeth Page (b. 1751?) are depicted c. 1755 in this portrait by John Wollaston commissioned by the sitters' father -- the owner of Rosewell, Virginia's largest mansion -- as evidence of his children's aristocratic heritage and genteel breeding. The six-year-old boy holds a "Virginia red bird," already a symbol of the region, while his four-year-old sister uses as a toy a fashion doll that demonstrated adult clothing styles. |