Miss Ramus
ca. 1770
Medium
Pencil and watercolor on paper
Dimensions
2 1/4 x 2 in. (57 x 51 mm)
Classification
Miniatures
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Alexandrine Sinsheimer, 1958
Accession Number
59.23.75
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Miss Ramus** is a delicate portrait miniature by the renowned British artist John Smart, created around 1770. Measuring just 2¼ x 2 inches (57 x 51 mm), this intimate work captures the poised likeness of its young female subject, Miss Ramus, in pencil and watercolor on paper. Smart, a master of the genre during the Georgian era, specialized in these tiny treasures, which were cherished as personal keepsakes—often worn as jewelry, pinned to clothing, or housed in lockets. Miniatures like this one flourished in 18th-century Europe, serving as affordable alternatives to grand oil portraits for...