Eliza Osgood Peabody, Age 6

Unidentified, Eliza Osgood Peabody, Age 6, 1830, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Mary Elizabeth Spencer, 1999.27.57
Copied Unidentified, Eliza Osgood Peabody, Age 6, 1830, watercolor on ivory, sight 2 181 38 in. (5.43.5 cm) oval, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Mary Elizabeth Spencer, 1999.27.57
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Artwork Details

Title
Eliza Osgood Peabody, Age 6
Artist
Unidentified
Date
1830
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sight 2 181 38 in. (5.43.5 cm) oval
Credit Line
Bequest of Mary Elizabeth Spencer
Mediums
Mediums Description
watercolor on ivory
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure female — child — full length
  • Portrait female — Peabody, Eliza Osgood — full length
Object Number
1999.27.57

Artwork Description

The little girl in this primitive portrait is six-year-old Eliza Osgood Peabody, born in 1824 into a wealthy Boston family. Eliza wears lacy bloomers and a brown and gold dress with puffy sleeves. She stands on a decorative rug in front of crimson curtains that have been drawn back to frame her figure. The awkward proportions of the child’s body suggest that the artist received little or no formal training. In 1850, Eliza married Isaac Andrew, brother of Massachusetts governor John Andrew.