Zachariah F. Johnston

Unidentified, Zachariah F. Johnston, ca. 1840, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1950.10.3
Copied Unidentified, Zachariah F. Johnston, ca. 1840, watercolor on ivory, 2 x 1 5⁄8 in. (5.2 x 4.1 cm) oval, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1950.10.3
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Zachariah F. Johnston
Artist
Unidentified
Date
ca. 1840
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
2 x 1 5⁄8 in. (5.2 x 4.1 cm) oval
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund
Mediums
Mediums Description
watercolor on ivory
Classifications
Subjects
  • Portrait male — Johnston, Zachariah F. — bust
Object Number
1950.10.3
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1950.10.3

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.