The Maier Museum of Art
at Randolph College

“Mary Scott Swann, 1816” by Joan Mazza

John Vanderlyn (1775 -1852), Mary Scott Swann, 1816, oil on canvas.

John Vanderlyn (1775 -1852), Mary Scott Swann, 1816, oil on canvas. Gift of Rear Admiral and Mrs. Frank L. Pinney, Jr., in honor of Mary Ellen Pinney Harrington ’58, 1978.

after John Vanderlyn’s Mary Scott Swann

 

At eighteen, I sat
for Mr. Vanderlyn,
my bosom pushed up for his view
to paint and paint me
into this small frame.

Hours for each link of the chain
of my brooch and its shadow,
the folds of the scarf encircling
my arms, which he arranged
and rearranged.

I did not smile.
See how smooth my skin
and dress, how he removed
all evidence
of stroke and brushstroke.

 


Learn more about the author of this poem, Joan Mazza, at www.JoanMazza.com