Old Woman in Grey

Betsy Flagg Melcher, Old Woman in Grey, 1931, watercolor on ivory, sight 4 ³⁄₈ x 3 in. (11.1 x 7.6 cm) rectangle, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the American Society of Miniature Painters, 1965.30.16

Artwork Details

Title: Old Woman in Grey
Artist: Betsy Flagg Melcher
Date: 1931
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: sight 4 ³⁄₈ x 3 in. (11.1 x 7.6 cm) rectangle
Credit Line: Gift of the American Society of Miniature Painters
Mediums: watercolor
Mediums Description: watercolor on ivory
Classifications: Painting
Miniature
Subjects: Portrait female — unidentified — waist length
Portrait female — unidentified — elderly
Object Number: 1965.30.16
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1965.30.16

Artwork Description

This miniature shows a lady dressed from head to toe in a gray gown and bonnet, a style more appropriate to the late 1800s than the 1930s. The grays bring out the shadows in her aging but still beautiful face, while the soberness of her dress emphasizes the strength of character evident in her gaze.