Frances Townley Chase Loockerman

Maker: Robert Field, British, (1769-1819)

Medium: Watercolor on Ivory

P50 Donated by Mrs. Francis White in 1963

Born in 1780, Frances led a life of privilege being the eldest daughter of the prosperous Judge Jeremiah Townley Chase, once mayor of Annapolis. She learned to be a lady of great accomplishment, playing the pianoforte, writing letters, and perfecting the art of congenial conversation. By 1800 Frances had started to grace Annapolis society and attend many evening gatherings. She likely met her future husband, Richard Loockerman, during one of these evenings among the Annapolis gentry. It is not hard to see why the dashing Richard Loockerman caught her eye from across the room.

A family friend later wrote that Richard was one of the “handsomest, most sensible, and well informed men of our age.” Richard and Frances struck up a quick romance and married October 1, 1803. At first they lived at Richard’s inherited plantation on the Eastern Shore. Unfortunately for Frances, her dashing husband would turn out to have problems, including mismanagement of money.

In 1811 Frances’ father, Judge Jeremiah Townley Chase, bought the Hammond estate for the couple; the property included the mansion and four acres of land. Judge Chase kept the property in his name to avoid Richard gambling it away The Loockermans’ rollercoaster marriage produced ten children and came to an end in November of 1834 when Richard’s destructive ways proved fatal. He died following a drinking binge at his plantation. The reality of the marriage compared to the serene images of the pair in the Robert Field miniatures is a stark contrast.

Known as one of America’s preeminent miniature painters, English-born Robert Field came to Philadelphia in 1794 and spent the next 14 years traveling the eastern seaboard. Field worked in the neoclassical style and placed his subjects in the high center of the portrait, generally with a blue or brown background created with cross hatching. He used large ivory wafers he likely brought with him from England. Ivory came into use around the turn of the 18 th century. Mainly from elephant tusk, this hard surface was incredibly greasy and difficult to paint on. Industrious miniaturists found ways to combat this issue by using sandpaper, pumice, and even pressing it between sheets of paper with a hot iron.

To make sure their paint adhered to the surface miniaturists would use gum Arabic or liquid from a cow gall bladder to make the watercolor flow. Companies like William Reeves of London supplied artists, selling boxes with cakes of watercolors and paint brushes made from animal fur – principally squirrel.

Field moved in elite circles using social networks to obtain commissions. He relocated to Nova Scotia in 1808 and Jamaica in 1816, where he died of yellow fever in 1819. A forthcoming 2021 article, Associates with the First Classes: The Social Network of Miniaturist Robert Field in Early America, co-authored by Hammond-Harwood House Curator Rachel Lovett and Michelle Fitzgerald, Assistant Curator at Johns Hopkins Homewood House, will discuss Field’s work in the region.

By Rachel Lovett, Curator