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, 1962.5.2
Copied Unidentified, Portrait of a Gentleman, ca. 1850, watercolor on ivory, sight 2 3⁄4 x 2 in. (7.0 x 5.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1962.5.2
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Portrait of a Gentleman
Artist
Unidentified
Date
ca. 1850
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sight 2 3⁄4 x 2 in. (7.0 x 5.1 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund
Mediums
Mediums Description
watercolor on ivory
Classifications
Subjects
  • Portrait male — unidentified — bust
Object Number
1962.5.2
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1962.5.2

Artwork Description

This miniature shows the forceful, confident figure of a nineteenth-century businessman. During the 1850s, such men wore dark clothes to indicate their professionalism and sobriety. This sitter’s low collar and smaller necktie mark the shift from earlier high collars and elaborate cravats that identified men of wealth and leisure.