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gasolier, c.1850, supported hundreds of cut-glass prisms and was the centerpiece of the
room.
The other focal point of this room was Thomas Sully's portrait of "A Lady With a Harp":
Eliza Ridgely. This portrait, the greatest and best known of the Hampton collection, was
commissioned by Nicholas Greenbury Ridgely in 1818 when his daughter was only 15
years old and painted in Philadelphia where Eliza was in boarding school. Sully executed
the portrait in only three weeks, and it was immediately sent to the Pennsylvania Academy
of Fine Arts for exhibition. In October of 1818, the painting was delivered to Baltimore
by Rembrandt Peale, who mounted it on a stretcher and framed it for his friend Sully.
The portrait cost $500 with an additional $55.25 for the framing. The harp in the por-
trait was a studio prop and does not duplicate Eliza's actual instrument on exhibit in the
Music Room.
The original "A Lady With a Harp" by Thomas Sully was purchased from John Ridgely,
Jr., at Hampton in 1945, and is now on exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. A copy
of the original hangs at Hampton in the same place of honor occupied by the Sully like-
ness for over 100 years.
Other important paintings in this room include the original Thomas Sully portrait of
John Ridgely, 1841, and the late 18th century portrait of Colonel John Eager Howard,
attributed to Charles Willson Peale. The very large Italian painting depicting ruins was
another of the group purchased by the family in Europe in the 19th century.
First Story Stairhall
Furnishings in the Stairhall were modest and may have included a couple of tables,
several chairs and a tall case clock.
The Baltimore mahogany tall case clock, c. 1810, in the Stairhall today is original to
Hampton and was purchased by Charles Caman Ridgely. It was returned to the collec-
tion by Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical magnate, who was a Ridgely descendant.
The rosewood barometer, made in Baltimore, belonged to John and Eliza Ridgely.
Weather gauging instruments would have been very important to the plantation econ-
omy at Hampton, and each succeeding master would have owned a barometer and a
thermometer. Telescopes were also popular with the family and there are two London-
made telescopes in the Ridgely collections today.
Venetian stair carpeting, a brightly striped wool floor covering held in place by brass
stair rods, is listed in Charles Carnan Ridgely's 1829 estate inventory and may have been
used in this area.
Second Story Stairhall
Furnishings in the Second Story Stairhall were also modest, although in the latter part
of the 19th century the room began to fill up. In 20th century photographs, there were
couches as well as tables and chairs in this area.
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, however, the hall was most probably lined
with chairs for additional seating when required. A pier table or storage chest might have
been placed against the west wall and a mirror was most likely used at the west end of
the hall to provide more light for this dim area.
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