Portrait of a Young Girl with Rose
ca. 1838
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Ralph and Bobbi Terkowitz
Accession Number
2019.6.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection, *Portrait of a Young Girl with Rose* by Oliver Tarbell Eddy (ca. 1838) enchants visitors with its tender depiction of childhood. This full-length painting shows a young girl gracefully holding a rose—a classic symbol of innocence, beauty, and fleeting youth—capturing a moment of poised elegance typical of 19th-century family portraits. Created around 1838, during America's early national period of expansion and self-definition, the work reflects the era's tradition of commissioned portraits. These paintings often served as cherished family ...