UMW Senior Uncovers ‘Mary Washington Mystery’ at Historic Preservation Internship
Natalie Froustet ’27 was organizing a portrait collection during her summer internship with Preservation Virginia when she made an amazing discovery. Hidden inside a closet at the John Marshall House in Richmond was a centuries-old painting of Mary Ball Washington.
Or so she thought.
“I learned that Mary Washington was never painted during her lifetime, so it was actually a portrait of George Washington’s face on his mother’s body,” said Froustet, a historic preservation and environmental science major and museum studies minor. “A relative commissioned the painting so he could sell it to make a lot of money.”
Will Glasco, Preservation Virginia’s chief executive officer, said the painting is “now known to be a forgery, yet it’s famous in its own right.” In fact, George Washington’s Mount Vernon had been searching for it for decades, so he and his colleagues arranged a transfer of the piece, noting that proceeds will help fund future initiatives for their collection. “We might not have made such a discovery without our paid interns and the support of the Chrisman Family Foundation.”
While Froustet’s find featured a fake Mary Washington – the painting was falsely attributed to 18th-century English artist Robert Edge Pine – she has had numerous real-world learning experiences through UMW’s Department of Historic Preservation, one of the nation’s top undergraduate programs in the field. She’s also grateful for the generous donors who’ve supported her education and professional pursuits.
“No amount of thanks could be big enough for Chrisman Family Foundation Internship and Preservation Virginia for giving me this opportunity,” said Froustet, who also received the Dovetail Cultural Resource Group and Kathleen Myra and Everett Geno Jr. scholarships for historic preservation majors, noting that they helped alleviate the cost of college.
Froustet, who grew up in Chesterfield County, Virginia, had a passion for the past ever since she was a child, thanks to her grandfather, a Civil War and World War II buff, and her parents, who brought her to museums in Washington, D.C.
“I was researching colleges during the pandemic and found UMW’s historic preservation program,” said Froustet, who was accepted to the University through early decision.
As a first-year student, she joined the Presidential Emerging Leaders Program, which prepared her for her current leadership role as a Washington Guide. Last spring, she earned a Fund for Mary Washington Impact Grant to help purchase new UMW-branded gear for her fellow guides, who lead campus tours for prospective students and their families.
But she’s mostly focused on applying her classroom learning in the field. Associate Professor of Historic Preservation Michael Spencer ’03 helped her secure a National Park Service internship that gave her insight into historic landscaping. And Assistant Professor of Historic Preservation Katherine Parker, director of UMW’s Archaeology Lab, inspired her to become an aide there.
Froustet has also worked closely alongside Associate Professor and Center for Historic Preservation Director Christine Henry in fieldwork, learning about digital photography, measuring and creating scaled drawings, and engaging in archival research.
“Natalie brought a real curiosity and open-minded exploration of buildings, both as artifacts of the past and as a repository of stories of the people who created, used and transformed these spaces,” Henry said. “She’s also the kind of student who naturally helps the group gel together in order to get the work done.”
Froustet has also begun interdisciplinary research with Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Melanie Szulczewski, studying metal contents in pre- and post-industrial brick buildings in Fredericksburg. They plan to share their findings at the Soil Science Conference in Portland, Oregon, later this year.
“It’s fascinating how much these fields intersect,” said Froustet, who is taking U.S. Women’s History, Moonshine and American Memory and Introduction to Biological Archaeology this semester. “I’m considering a career in archaeology, so this is a chance to learn about human bones and remains.”
And for fun, she’s playing the role of George Washington – not his mother – for the Historic Preservation Club’s annual Ghostwalk student-led tours in downtown Fredericksburg Oct. 23 and 24.
“I know that I’ll use the skills I learned at UMW and in my internships in whatever future career path I choose,” said Froustet, who plans to work before pursuing a master’s degree. “Mary Washington has already opened so many doors for me.”
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