Huybertje Lansing Pruyn (Mrs. Charles S.) Hamlin (1873-1964)
Charlotte Burt Kirkham (1856-1933)
Date:
1900
Medium:
Watercolor on ivory in gold frame with garnets and pearls
Dimensions:
2 H x 1 3/4 W (oval ivory panel)
Inscription:
Signed and dated on reverse: C. Kirkham / 1900
Credit:
Gift of Huybertje Lansing Pruyn (Mrs. Charles S.) Hamlin
Accession Number:
1943.36.14
Comments:
Invention of the daguerreotype in 1839 meant that painted miniatures were headed for extinction. More and more people let cameras capture their likeness, but there was a resurgence of interest in painted miniature portraits in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. For patrons familiar with family miniatures from earlier periods, continuing a tradition was an important element in bringing about the revival of painted miniatures one last time before photography triumphed.
