Captain Joseph Anthony

Walter Robertson, Captain Joseph Anthony, ca. 1794, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Ruel P. Tolman, 1952.12.1
Walter Robertson, Captain Joseph Anthony, ca. 1794, watercolor on ivory, sight 2 3⁄4 x 2 1⁄4 in. (7.0 x 5.7 cm) oval, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Ruel P. Tolman, 1952.12.1
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Artwork Details

Title
Captain Joseph Anthony
Artist
Date
ca. 1794
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sight 2 3⁄4 x 2 1⁄4 in. (7.0 x 5.7 cm) oval
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Ruel P. Tolman
Mediums
Mediums Description
watercolor on ivory
Classifications
Subjects
  • Occupation — military — captain
  • Portrait male — Anthony, Joseph — waist length
Object Number
1952.12.1
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1952.12.1

Artwork Description

Captain Joseph Anthony (1738-1798) was a prosperous Philadelphia merchant. His son Joseph Jr. became a prominent silversmith, and his son Josiah, a fellow merchant. The miniature of Josiah Hewes Anthony is in this collection [see 1952.12.2]. On the back of Captain Anthony’s miniature is a second painting---a mourning scene, with two female figures holding two bluebirds and a red rose. They sit next to a large funerary urn under a massive tree, a temple behind them in the rolling landscape. The tree and grass are made with clippings of hair, and braided locks---perhaps from the captain himself---adorn the perimeter of the image. This second painting is clearly by a different artist, and was probably added to the miniature after the captain’s death.

Works by this artist (6 items)

View all artworks
Walter Robertson, Mrs. Elizabeth Pollock Hartigan, 1795, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1956.1.4
Mrs. Elizabeth Pollock Hartigan
Artist
Date1795
watercolor on ivory
Not on view
Gilbert Stuart, Walter Robertson, Lawrence Reid Yates, ca. 1794, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1956.1.3
Lawrence Reid Yates
Artist
Dateca. 1794
watercolor on ivory
Not on view
Walter Robertson, Portrait of a Gentleman, ca. 1796, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1936.6.1
Portrait of a Gentleman
Artist
Dateca. 1796
watercolor on ivory
Not on view
Walter Robertson, John Jauncey Ketchum, ca. 1795, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Albert A. Best, Edison, N.J., 1986.64.1
John Jauncey Ketchum
Artist
Dateca. 1795
watercolor on ivory
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Browse All Artworks
Unidentified (French), Portrait of a Lady, ca. 1775, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1954.6.5
Portrait of a Lady
Artist
Unidentified (French)
Dateca. 1775
watercolor on ivory
Not on view
Jean Pierre Henri Elouis, Augustus Fricke, ca. 1795, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1950.7.10
Augustus Fricke
Artist
Dateca. 1795
watercolor on ivory
Not on view
Unidentified, Mourning Locket for A. R., ca. 1780, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Edmund Bury, 1938.7.1
Mourning Locket for A. R.
Artist
Unidentified
Dateca. 1780
watercolor on ivory
Not on view
Unidentified, Portrait of a Gentleman with Initials H. D. C., ca. 1795, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Rene Muller, 1980.95.1
Portrait of a Gentleman with Initials H. D. C.
Artist
Unidentified
Dateca. 1795
watercolor on ivory
Not on view