Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
Accession Number
S/NPG.74.39.3.33
Tags
Art Historical Context
**John Wharton** (1799) is a refined portrait print by Charles Balthazar Julien Fév de Saint-Mémin1770–1852), a French-born engraver who brought European sophistication to early American art. Created just two decades after the Revolution, this work captures the likeness of its male subject, John Wharton during a pivotal era when the United States was defining its cultural identity through intimate, accessible imagery. Saint-Mémin in profile portraits, using innovative engraving techniques derived from the physiognotrace—a mechanical tracing device—to produce precise, often hand-colored prints...