Watch a video to find out.
Stay logged in
Go to Navigation Go to Content Go to Search
Part of The American Wing
Savinien Edme Dubourjal (1795–1865)
Date: ca. 1845Accession Number: 95.2.4
Henry Colton Shumway (1807–1884)
Date: 1833Accession Number: 1984.116.2
John Wesley Jarvis (American (born England), South Shield 1780–1840 New York)
Date: ca. 1815Accession Number: 1985.141.5
Date: 1798Accession Number: 25.29
Robert Fulton (American, Little Britain, Pennsylvania 1765–1815 New York)
Date: ca. 1813Accession Number: 14.135
Thomas Seir Cummings (American (born England), Bath 1804–1894 Hackensack, New Jersey)
Date: ca. 1835Accession Number: 65.180
Browse current and upcoming exhibitions and events.
Exhibitions:
Events:
The tradition of miniature painting—tiny watercolor portraits on ivory—emerged in America in the eighteenth century. Based on European models, portrait miniatures are related to ancient and medieval devotional paintings and illuminated manuscripts. Originally made to be worn or carried, each is inextricably tied to its function as memento, love token, or reliquary. The works in this gallery portray husbands, wives, lovers, and children, both living and dead, and commemorate births, deaths, and marriages. The miniatures have been placed in a range of mounts, including metal lockets, other types of jewelry, and pocket-sized leather cases. After the invention of the daguerreotype in 1839, many miniaturists abandoned their art, but some chose to compete with photography. A later revival of the tradition endured into the early decades of the twentieth century.
