Artwork Details
- Title
- Portrait of a Gentleman
- Artist
- Unidentified
- Date
- ca. 1830
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- sight 5 3⁄8 x 4 3⁄8 in. (13.7 x 11.1 cm) octagon
- Credit Line
- Transfer from the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- watercolor on ivory
- Keywords
- Portrait male — unidentified — Miniature
- Object Number
- 1993.37
Artwork Description
By the 1830s, miniatures appeared in various shapes and sizes, becoming less “intimate” than locket miniatures. Patrons now exhibited these pictures more publicly in frames and cases in their homes. Artists, however, continued to use devices to draw viewers into the image. In this portrait, the rich blue fabric complements the colors in the image, and highlights the gentleman’s fixed gaze.