Sarah Louisa Jenkins 1804

This miniature portrait of Sarah Louisa Jenkins was painted by Robert Field, an Anglo-American artist, likely in the early 19th century. Small portraits like this one were popular in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Before photography, they were a way for people to remember loved ones. The portraits were usually commissioned by wealthy families and acted as status symbols, demonstrating the family’s economic position in society. The image creates meaning through the visual codes of femininity in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Jenkins’s high-waisted dress, delicate shawl, and carefully arranged hair all spoke to the fashionable styles of the day. Her soft facial features and gentle expression would have been seen as desirable qualities in a woman. These qualities were highly sought-after, and were often promoted by art and other cultural institutions. Understanding portraiture like this one requires looking at social history and cultural context. What kind of clothing was popular at the time? What were the expectations for women? We can learn a lot about the past by studying the art it produced and the institutions that sustained it.