Tokens of Affection

Admit it! It's Valentine's Day and you're still looking for that extra special gift for your loved one.

Earlier generations had it figured out with the miniature portrait, a tradition brought from Europe that continued until the early twentieth century. Edward Greene Malbone's portrait of Henry Bounetheau's Aunt is a fine example from the Smithsonian American Art Museum's extensive miniature collection.

The gift of one's miniature was the traditional means of marking an important family event or special relationship, such as an engagement, a marriage, a long separation, or a memorial. Some miniature cases also included in the back a lock of the sitter's hair … and [were] sometimes ornamented with gold filigree initials, reinforcing the personal nature of the portrait.

To make your own Victorian-inspired Valentine card, stop by the Renwick Gallery, located at 17th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, between noon and 2 P.M. today.

Source: Robin Bolton-Smith. "Tokens of Affection" exhibition brochure (New York, N.Y. and Washington, D.C.: Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Museum of American Art, 1991).

Pictured: Edward Greene Malbone, 1777–1807, Henry B. Bounetheau's Aunt, about 1804, watercolor on ivory, 3 3/8 x 2 3/4 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Henry Du Pre Bounetheau.