Portrait of a Gentleman with Initials G. D.

Raphaelle Peale, Portrait of a Gentleman with Initials G. D., ca. 1805, watercolor on ivory, sight 2 ¹⁄₂ x 2 in. (6.4 x 5.2 cm) oval, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1942.7.2

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Artwork Details

Title: Portrait of a Gentleman with Initials G. D.
Artist: Raphaelle Peale
Date: ca. 1805
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: sight 2 ¹⁄₂ x 2 in. (6.4 x 5.2 cm) oval
Credit Line: Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund
Mediums: watercolor
Mediums Description: watercolor on ivory
Classifications: Painting
Miniature
Subjects: Portrait male — D., G. — bust
Object Number: 1942.7.2
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1942.7.2

Artwork Description

The intertwined initials “GD” on the back of this locket are the only clue to the gentleman’s identity. His hair reflects the change at the end of the eighteenth century, when many younger men rejected wigs in favor of natural hair. The short top and curled sides of this sitter’s hair were styled to accommodate a top hat.