Elizabeth Washington Gamble Wirt

Elizabeth Washington Gamble, daughter of Robert and Catherine Gamble of Richmond, Virginia, became William Wirt’s second wife in 1802. They inherited a house in Richmond in 1808, around the time these portraits were painted. Originally in the rectangular format typical of Cephas Thompson’s work, the paintings were later trimmed to their present oval shape and reframed. Elizabeth Wirt was highly educated. She later utilized her knowledge of Latin to prepare a manuscript of favorite quotations about flowers, which she published anonymously as Flora’s Dictionary in 1829. The book contributed to the popularization of floriography, the language of flowers in which specific meanings are attributed to different blooms.
Subsequent editions identified the author as
“Mrs. E. W. Wirt of Virginia.”