Portrait of a Lady 1813 - 1891

John Carlin painted this miniature portrait of a woman using watercolor on ivory, likely sometime in the mid-19th century. Working at such a tiny scale demanded incredible skill. Look closely, and you can see the delicate brushwork used to capture the sitter's likeness and the subtle gradations of tone in her face. Watercolor is a tricky medium; it requires a light touch and precise control of the brush to achieve the desired effect. On a ground like ivory, the effects are luminous and gem-like. Miniature portraits like this were often worn as jewelry or kept as mementos. They represent a particular kind of labor: painstaking, highly skilled, and intimate. In a world before photography, such painstaking handwork was the only way to preserve an image of a loved one. Appreciating the labor and skill involved in creating such an object allows us to recognize its value, both artistic and emotional.