Agnes Sewell
possibly ca. 1800
Medium
Ivory
Dimensions
Oval, 3 x 2 3/8 in. (75 x 60 mm)
Classification
Miniatures
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Elise Shackelford Black, 1945
Accession Number
45.95
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Hazlehurst's *Agnes Sewell*, possibly created around 1800, exemplifies the exquisite art of portrait miniatures from late Georgian Britain. This oval ivory piece, measuring just 3 x 2⅜ inches (75 x 60 mm), captures the sitter—a woman likely of refined social standing—in delicate watercolor, a technique Hazlehurst mastered as a Liverpool-based miniaturist active from the 1790s to 1820s. Miniatures like this were cherished personal treasures, often worn as jewelry or kept in cases, offering an intimate alternative to grand oil portraits. Ivory's smooth, luminous surface was ideal for the...