Eliza Hooper

Unidentified, Eliza Hooper, 1828, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1972.101
Copied 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
Keywords
  • 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.