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Portrait of a Lady

ca. 1850 Thomas S. Officer Born: Carlisle, Pennsylvania 1810 Died: San Francisco, California 1859 watercolor on ivory sight 5 x 2 1/2 in. (12.7 x 6.4 cm) rectangle Smithsonian American Art Museum Gift of Mrs. Henry L. Milmore 1950.4.41 Smithsonian American Art Museum
3rd Floor, Luce Foundation Center

Thomas Officer painted this miniature while he was living in Mexico between 1848 and 1850. The lady wears a brooch and bracelet possibly of black onyx, and a necklace and earrings of pearls. These accessories accentuate the contrast between her fair skin and dark eyes and hair. The elegant pose has been undercut by the formal, almost awkward rendering of the sitter’s left hand.

For more information about this work visit the Luce Foundation Center.

Keywords

Portrait female - unidentified - bust

painting - miniature

paint - watercolor

ivory

About Thomas S. Officer

Born: Carlisle, Pennsylvania 1810 Died: San Francisco, California 1859