Ebenezer Williams

Unidentified, Ebenezer Williams, ca. 1825, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1962.7.1
Copied Unidentified, Ebenezer Williams, ca. 1825, watercolor on ivory, 2 1⁄2 x 2 in. (6.4 x 5.1 cm) oval, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1962.7.1
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Ebenezer Williams
Artist
Unidentified
Date
ca. 1825
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
2 1⁄2 x 2 in. (6.4 x 5.1 cm) oval
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund
Mediums
Mediums Description
watercolor on ivory
Classifications
Keywords
  • Portrait male — Williams, Ebenezer — bust
Object Number
1962.7.1
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1962.7.1

Artwork Description

Miniature paintings memorializing a friend or family member grew popular in the nineteenth century when the death of Prince Albert sent Queen Victoria into deep mourning. A name and death date on a locket, pin, or ring marked the passing of a loved one, and artists sometimes mixed a lock of the deceased person’s hair in with the pigment. The paintings often showed the bereaved person next to a tomb or cinerary urn, as in Mourning Locket for A. R. and Mourning Ring, and sometimes included symbols of grieving such as a dove or weeping willow.