Portrait of Miss Eleanor Falkingham
Medium
Watercolor on ivory, mother-of-pearl
Dimensions
4 × 3.5 cm (1 9/16 × 1 3/8 in.); Framed: 4.3 × 3.8 cm (1 11/16 × 1 1/2 in.)
Classification
miniature painting
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
9692
Art Historical Context
Step into the intimate world of 18th portraiture with Richard Cosway's *Portrait of Miss Eleanor Falk* (1764), a gem of Georgian miniature painting now housed in the Art Institute Chicago's Department of Painting and Sculpture of. At just 4 × 3.5 cm—small enough to fit in a locket or brooch—this watercolor on ivory exemplifies the era's fascination with personal, wearable art. Cosway, a pioneering English miniaturist and Royal Academician (R.A created it early in his career, capturing the young subject's delicate features with luminous precision. The medium is key to its allure: ivory provide...