Collection: Small Portraits

 The image is a positive backed by paper and now archivally framed and preserved. Its rarity lies both in its size and in the use of the plate to make a single image, an expensive endeavor. Few people could have afforded to have this image made, (they could have had each person photographed separately and probably used less glass) I wonder if, perhaps, the photographer was a member of the group or if it was an expensive job he was asked to produce. By portraying them together he was able to give them a complex setting that would not have worked for individual portraits where one background image would have appeared, repeated, as boring and artificial.

The framing style and the period cultural subject matter suggest to me that this work was once part of the vast collection of Phillip Isacson of Maine.

Portrait miniature of a handsome man in a bright blue coat with orange trim by Gustavus Hamilton, finely drawn and in a bejeweled pendant case. Scotland, c.1760.

A lovely portrait of a young woman drawn in pencil, ink, and water color on card stock. Identified as Mary Abigail Willing Cole of Baltimore, MD (1789-1831). She was also painted in 1809 by Thomas Sully. Portrait and papers in Maryland Historical Society. Frame, c.1790, with rope decoration, gilded and framed behind reverse painted glass. 7 1/2" x 6 3/4" frame size.

His dog across his lap, his straw hat on his head, a classic of our idea of a portrait from the "Old West." Circa 1860.

A daguerreotype of a mischievous young child in a plaid dress staring at the photographer as if he were his next victim. Excellent condition, c.1850

New England 1850 - 1852. Archivally sealed and conservation framed.

A column covered with leaves occupies the space to her right. This is an example of the work of Samuel Broadbent of Philadelphia and is stamped "Broadbent" in the lower left corner of the mat. Broadbent's work is considered comparable Southworth and Hawes of Boston. It can be dated circa 1854. It is comparable in quality to the finest Philadelphia academic portraiture of that period. Archivally sealed and conservation framed.

The subject of this dageurreotype, a charming and pensive child, was photographed steading herself for the long exposure of the camera by resting a hand on the seat of a chair with a leaf-carved crest, which compliments the dangling red-tinted bouquet that she holds in her other hand in a seemingly casual gesture that belies the intensity of her gaze on the photographer.
She wears beautiful lace pantaloons and high-topped shoes, features which in themselves date the making of the image, probaly between 1845 and 1850, and ribbons hold her dangling curls back from her face. The lighting of the picture is subtle but finely chosen by an artist/photographer of great skill.
In her original brass mat and pressed paper case which is mounted on brown suede and in a modern carved and gilded frame fitted with museum glass. Plate tarnished to sides and resealed. Framed dimensions are 8 x 12 3/4 inches.

A beautiful sixth plate daguerreotype image of a seated, frontally placed girl, on a silvered plate that glows with an almost white light behind her. Her pose is peaceful, composed, her hands touching each other. The bow atop her head is red and a faint pink tints her cheeks. It's hard to describe the purity of the image. It has to do with the girl herself, the perfect tonality of the unblemished plate, and the pose given her. A quiet masterpiece.

With scalloped mat circa 1850 - 1852, New England. Archivally sealed and conservationed framed.

A watercolor and ink on paper drawing of a young girl attributed to Jacob Maentel. Seen in profile, she is wearing a blue-flowered dress and holds flowers, and a bee is flying toward them. In a period gilded frame, and inscribed "Anna Hinterleider, geboren (born) den 19 Auguste 1804". 5 3/4" x 6 1/2" (image size).

Three watercolor on ivory portraits of the young family of George Meade Stevens. A child sits in a red-decorated windsor armchair patting his dog. The mother, in a blue dress, has a rose in her hair and a handkerchief in her tiny hand. The father's hands are tiny as well, and he holds a cane. C.1840-45. Probably NH or VT. Mounted in a reverse-painted black and gold surround and in a gilded frame. Image size 7 3/4" x 6 1/4".

A miniature of a child on ivory in a pendant case, c.1850. American. Features are dramatically colored and a have high contrast level.

A portrait miniature of a handsome young man on ivory. c.1825.

Embellished with a portrait  and the name of Admiral Sydney Smith (1764-1840) painted  in oil on its lid. Smith was the rival of Horatio Nelson in the British pantheon of naval heroes during the Napoleonic Wars  and is most famous for his defense of Acre, which thwarted Napoleon's ambitions in the Middle East.  Napoleon Bonaparte, later in his life reminisced "that man made me miss my destiny." Smith served with distinction in the Royal Navy during the American and French Revolutionary Wars, rising to the rank  of full admiral during the Napoleonic Wars. 

Watercolor portrait of a woman on paper with elaborate hairdo, jewelry, including a multi-layered necklace and pendant earrings, and a dress with ruffled lace at the collar and shoulder.  Posed in profile and beautifully colored.  The frame is a 'make-do' and the image is reversed within its opening.

A miniature portrait on ivory of a man painted by a Continentally-trained artist.  The sitter wears a black jacket and black bow-tie beneath his collar.  He has blue eyes and red hair and what appears to be a scar on one cheek.  His miniature is in a leather case with a scrolled mat.  Folky characteristics and boldly done, giving him strong linear features., c.1845.