Eliza Hooper

Unidentified, Eliza Hooper, 1828, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1972.101
Unidentified, Eliza Hooper, 1828, watercolor on ivory, 3 122 34 in. (8.97.0 cm) rectangle, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1972.101
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Artwork Details

Title
Eliza Hooper
Artist
Unidentified
Date
1828
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
3 122 34 in. (8.97.0 cm) rectangle
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Mediums
Mediums Description
watercolor on ivory
Classifications
Subjects
  • Portrait female — Hooper, Eliza — waist length
Object Number
1972.101

Artwork Description

It is not always possible to identify the sitter in a miniature portrait, and research is still being done on some of the works in the Museum’s collection. Miniatures became popular in England during the early 1700s, commissioned by wealthy families on the occasions of births, engagements, weddings, and bereavements. These paintings, elaborately set into lockets or brooches, provided the wearer with a sentimental connection to a loved one. The back of the miniature often revealed a lock of the sitter’s hair, symbolizing affection, commitment, or loss. The daguerreotype, invented in 1839, provided a cheaper, faster alternative, and portrait miniatures grew less popular. At the turn of the twentieth century, with the establishment of the American Society of Miniature Painters, miniatures enjoyed a brief revival.

More Artworks from the Collection

George Catlin, Portrait of Mary Catlin, ca. 1827, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David C. Morse, 1984.139.2
Portrait of Mary Catlin
Dateca. 1827
watercolor on ivory
Not on view
Sarah Goodridge, Beulah Appleton, ca. 1840, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1942.11.7
Beulah Appleton
Dateca. 1840
watercolor on ivory
Not on view
Unidentified, Portrait of a Gentleman, ca. 1840, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Mary Elizabeth Spencer, 1999.27.61
Portrait of a Gentleman
Artist
Unidentified
Dateca. 1840
watercolor on ivory
Not on view
John Wood Dodge, Portrait of a Gentleman, 1832, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Henry L. Milmore, 1950.4.31
Portrait of a Gentleman
Date1832
watercolor on ivory
Not on view