Dr. Theoderick Love (1781-1852)

The subject was the son of Samuel Love (1752-?) and his wife, Sarah ("Sally") Carter (?-?)), who married December 26, 1778. Samuel conducted a medical practice in Prince Edward County, Virginia, where this portrait of his son likely was painted.

Theoderick Love was the elder of two children, his sister being Sarah Carter Love (1783-?). In January 1808, Theoderick married Maria Henderson Cutler (b. ca. 1791-?), daughter of Dr. William Cutler (1766-1836) and his first wife. (Her name and life dates are unknown.) Thus, Theoderick, both the son and son-in-law of doctors, found a readymade calling. Among the six children born to Theoderick and Maria, at least two of their daughters married doctors.

Little is known about the artist, Erastus Deane. He advertised miniature painting in Richmond in 1806 and 1807 and in Petersburg in 1807. Rather than sitting in Prince Edward County, Theoderick Love could have traveled to either city to have his portrait taken. A signed portrait of Matilda Kinney Stribling (1817-1898) that shows her as an older girl or young woman is a primary factor in pushing the terminal date of Deane's known activity into the 1820s.

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