J. Townsend Lansing (1843-1919)
Charles James Turrell (1846-1932)
Date:
c. 1910
Medium:
Watercolor on ivory in metal frame
Dimensions:
3 H x 2 W (oval ivory panel)
Inscription:
Signed lower center: C T
Credit:
Gift of Leontine de Kay Townsend Lansing
Accession Number:
1923.2.2
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. This particular miniature was probably painted from life.
