L. P. Church 1834

This miniature portrait of L. P. Church, painted by William A. Watkins in 1834, is an example of American portraiture during the 19th century. Watkins, who enjoyed a long and successful career as a miniaturist, captures Church in a formal pose, wearing a dark suit and spectacles against a hazy blue background. The small, intimate scale of the painting is characteristic of the genre of portrait miniatures, which were often worn as jewelry or kept in personal collections. This painting, now part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection, showcases Watkins's skill in rendering fine detail with delicate brushstrokes.