Portrait of a Child
Medium
Watercolor on ivory
Dimensions
2 1/8 x 1 11/16 in. (5.5 x 4.3 cm)
Classification
Painting, miniature
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Dale T. Johnson Fund, 2006
Accession Number
2006.235.192
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, *Portrait of a Child* William Lydston Jr exemplifies the delicate art of early American miniatures. Painted in watercolor on ivory, this tiny gem measures just 2 1/8 x 1 11/16 inches—small enough to fit in a locket oroch. Lydston, a Boston-based miniaturist active in late 18th and 19th centuries, in these intimate portraits, capturing the innocence of youth with remarkable precision. Watercolor on was a prized technique for miniatures, allowing artists to layer translucent pigments for luminous skin tones and fine details like soft cu...