Mrs. George P. Burne
1852
Medium
Watercolor on ivory
Dimensions
Sight: 2 7/16 x 1 15/16 in. (6.2 x 4.9 cm)
Classification
Painting, miniature
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1946
Accession Number
46.14
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the intimate world of 19th-century portrait mini, John Wood Dodge's *Mrs. George P. Burne* (1852) stands as a delicate gem. This watercolor on ivory, measuring just 2 /16 x 1 15/16 inches, the refined likeness of an American woman with remarkable precision. Dodge, a leading miniaturist of his era, mastered this medium—pigments applied to polished ivory for luminous, jewel-like effects that mimicked the era's prized oil portraits but in pocket-sized form. Created on the cusp of photography's rise, such miniatures served as cherished personal mementos, often pinned to clothing or worn as lockets by family members. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing since 1946 through the Rogers Fund, this work exemplifies Dodge's skill in rendering subtle facial expressions and textures on a minuscule scale, highlighting the technical virtuosity demanded by the format. It reflects mid-19th-century American values of domestic portraiture, where women's images preserved identity and status in an expanding nation.
About the Artist
John Wood Dodge · 1807–1893
1807–1893