Guyol de Guiran is known exclusively by this signed piece, a work of striking quality and originality. The artist was one of the many French-émigré miniaturists who came to America in the early nineteenth century, when the market was especially strong for such delicate likenesses. The Museum's collection of works by these painters is extensive and greatly enhanced by this touchstone portrait. Guyol de Guiran worked in St. Louis (1812–ca. 1820) and in New Orleans (1822–28); this picture may have been done in either locale. It is presumably a portrayal of a father and daughter, given the age difference and the loving glance from the girl to her gentleman companion, but this relationship cannot be confirmed. An unusual feature of the tiny painting is the artist's joining of ivory, on which the figures are delineated, with paper, on which the foliage is drawn.