Benjamin Trott, Miriam Etting Myers, ca. 1805, watercolor on ivory, 3 x 2 1⁄4 in. (7.7 x 5.7 cm) oval, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1959.5.1
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Miriam Etting Myers
- Artist
- Date
- ca. 1805
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 3 x 2 1⁄4 in. (7.7 x 5.7 cm) oval
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- watercolor on ivory
- Subjects
- Portrait female — Myers, Miriam Etting — bust
- Object Number
- 1959.5.1
Artwork Description
Miriam Etting Meyers (Mrs. Jacob Meyers) was born in 1787 and died in 1808. Her father, Solomon Etting, whose portrait was also painted by Benjamin Trott, led the movement in Maryland’s statehouse for the “Jew Bill,” which permitted Jews in Maryland to hold public office without having to first renounce their faith. This miniature was first attributed to Edward Greene Malbone, a rival portraitist whose success Trott greatly envied. Malbone had approached Trott in 1809 in hopes that the two painters could exchange some of their works and learn from each other’s strengths, but Trott quickly rejected the idea.
