Portrait of a Gentleman with Initials G. D.

Raphaelle Peale, Portrait of a Gentleman with Initials G. D., ca. 1805, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1942.7.2
Copied Raphaelle Peale, Portrait of a Gentleman with Initials G. D., ca. 1805, watercolor on ivory, sight 2 1⁄2 x 2 in. (6.4 x 5.2 cm) oval, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1942.7.2
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Portrait of a Gentleman with Initials G. D.
Artist
Date
ca. 1805
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sight 2 1⁄2 x 2 in. (6.4 x 5.2 cm) oval
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund
Mediums
Mediums Description
watercolor on ivory
Classifications
Subjects
  • Portrait male — D., G. — bust
Object Number
1942.7.2
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1942.7.2

Artwork Description

The intertwined initials “GD” on the back of this locket are the only clue to the gentleman’s identity. His hair reflects the change at the end of the eighteenth century, when many younger men rejected wigs in favor of natural hair. The short top and curled sides of this sitter’s hair were styled to accommodate a top hat.