MINIATURE OF MARJORIE MERRIWEATHER POST

Creator(s): Florence Enid Stoddard (Miniaturist)

On view in: First Floor Library

About this object

This miniature portrait features Hillwood's founder, Marjorie Merriweather Post. Painted by F. Enid Stoddard, it features Post in the gown that she wore to the Court of St. James in 1929--a dress made by the Paris fashion house Callot Soeurs (48.64.1-2). The miniature serves as a symbol of the contributions that women have made to the arts, as both patron and artist. Post was the only child of Ella Merriweather and C.W. Post, who invented the coffee substitute, Postum. Upon the death of her parents, Marjorie Merriweather Post became sole heir of the Postum Cereal Company, later to become the General Foods Corporation. Post was an enthusiastic art collector who amassed an important collection of French decorative arts and Imperial Russian art, now housed at her former home, Hillwood. Florence Enid Stoddard was a British portraitist and member of the Royal Academy of Art. She was well known for her striking portraits of prominent American and British society members. And Callot Soeurs was a woman-owned and operated fashion design house in Paris that was active from 1895-1937.

The miniature is of Marjorie Merriweather Post in court dress. Post is seated on a chair and is seen full length. She holds a closed fan in her lap and looks to the right.

Object name:

MINIATURE OF MARJORIE MERRIWEATHER POST

Made from:

watercolor on ivory

Date made:

1928

Size:

9 3/4 × 7 1/8 in. (24.8 × 18.1 cm)

Detailed information for this item

Catalog number:

21.138.2

Signature marks:

SIGNATURE: F. Enid Stoddard [On miniature lower right, in brown] INSCRIPTION: Marjorie Post Hutton 1928 [On back of frame, on base]

Credit line:

Bequest of Marjorie Merriweather Post, 1973