Thomas Wix Borden at the age of Two Years

Copied Unidentified, Thomas Wix Borden at the age of Two Years, ca. 1820, watercolor on paper, image: 4 383 14 in. (11.18.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Mary Elizabeth Spencer, 1999.27.72.3
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Artwork Details

Title
Thomas Wix Borden at the age of Two Years
Artist
Unidentified
Date
ca. 1820
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
image: 4 383 14 in. (11.18.3 cm)
Credit Line
Bequest of Mary Elizabeth Spencer
Mediums
Mediums Description
watercolor on paper
Classifications
Keywords
  • Landscape
  • Portrait male — Borden, Thomas Wix — child
  • Portrait male — Borden, Thomas Wix — full length
Object Number
1999.27.72.3

Artwork Description

Thomas Hicks Borden, the son of John and Comfort Cory, was born in 1820 and this miniature depicts him at two years of age. Thomas’s portrait is very different from those of his parents because the artist painted the child’s entire figure, a more expensive option for a painter’s clients. Thomas wears a vibrant red gown in a period when children of both sexes wore dresses until the age of three or four. Skirts symbolized dependence, but Thomas holds a whip to establish that he is male. Unlike his parents, who appear before muted brown backgrounds, Thomas stands in a landscape scene, possibly an orchard, to suggest his parents’ goal of “cultivating” a successful upbringing for their son.