Portrait of a Lady

Unidentified, Portrait of a Lady, ca. 1780, watercolor on ivory, 1 ¹⁄₈ x 1 ¹⁄₄ in. (2.9 x 3.2 cm) half oval, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1979.153.2

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Artwork Details

Title: Portrait of a Lady
Artist: Unidentified
Date: ca. 1780
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 1 ¹⁄₈ x 1 ¹⁄₄ in. (2.9 x 3.2 cm) half oval
Credit Line: Museum purchase
Mediums: watercolor
Mediums Description: watercolor on ivory
Classifications: Painting
Miniature
Subjects: Portrait female — unidentified — head
Object Number: 1979.153.2
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1979.153.2

Artwork Description

Set in a locket, this mourning miniature holds the memory of a woman’s beauty and elegance. Feathers and a string of navy beads accent her hair, which is styled in the manner of late-eighteenth-century British aristocrats. The portrait’s somber mood conveys the family’s grief after the loss of a loved one.