Portrait of a Gentleman

Unidentified, Portrait of a Gentleman, ca. 1850, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1959.7.23
Unidentified, Portrait of a Gentleman, ca. 1850, watercolor on ivory, sight 1 3⁄4 x 1 3⁄8 in. (4.4 x 3.5 cm) rectangle, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1959.7.23
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Portrait of a Gentleman
Artist
Unidentified
Date
ca. 1850
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sight 1 3⁄4 x 1 3⁄8 in. (4.4 x 3.5 cm) rectangle
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund
Mediums
Mediums Description
watercolor on ivory
Classifications
Subjects
  • Portrait male — unidentified — bust
Object Number
1959.7.23
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1959.7.23

Artwork Description

In this miniature the unknown artist emphasized the gentleman’s severe grooming and stern facial features to suggest a serious temperament. The decorative brass frame accentuates the stickpin in his shirt, and both details point to this sitter’s middle-class status in the mid-nineteenth century.

More Artworks from the Collection

Browse All Artworks
Image Not Available
Bently
Artist
Dateca. 1975
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled, ca. 1945-1950, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Lewis and Jean Greenblatt, 2002.86.9
Untitled
Artist
Dateca. 1945-1950
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled, ca. 1945-1950, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Lewis and Jean Greenblatt, 2002.86.7
Untitled
Artist
Dateca. 1945-1950
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Jared French, Margaret French, PaJaMa, Paul Cadmus, PaJaMa (Box A), ca. 1937, gelatin silver prints, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Margaret French, 1999.98.5.16
PaJaMa (Box A)
Artist
Dateca. 1937
gelatin silver prints
Not on view