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Catalog Data

Artist:
Unidentified  Search this
Sitter:
van Buren  Search this
van Buren  Search this
Medium:
watercolor on ivory
Dimensions:
image: 4 x 2 15/16 in. (10.1 x 7.4 cm)
Type:
Painting-Miniature
Date:
19th century
Luce Center Label:
It is not always possible to identify the sitter in a miniature portrait, and research is still being done on some of the works in the Museum’s collection. Miniatures became popular in England during the early 1700s, commissioned by wealthy families on the occasions of births, engagements, weddings, and bereavements. These paintings, elaborately set into lockets or brooches, provided the wearer with a sentimental connection to a loved one. The back of the miniature often revealed a lock of the sitter’s hair, symbolizing affection, commitment, or loss. The daguerreotype, invented in 1839, provided a cheaper, faster alternative, and portrait miniatures grew less popular. At the turn of the twentieth century, with the establishment of the American Society of Miniature Painters, miniatures enjoyed a brief revival.
Topic:
Portrait female\waist  Search this
Portrait female\child  Search this
Credit Line:
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Mary Elizabeth Spencer
Object number:
1999.27.71.2
Restrictions & Rights:
CC0
See more items in:
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department:
Painting and Sculpture
Data Source:
Smithsonian American Art Museum
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk78990cee9-90b9-4494-af92-610ec624c887
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:saam_1999.27.71.2