J. T. Mitchell
Elizabeth Mary and Augustus William Hillary

ArtistEnglish, active 1798–1830
CultureEnglish
Titles
  • Elizabeth Mary and Augustus William Hillary
Date1803
MediumWatercolor on ivory, 9k rose gold, paper, and glass
DimensionsOverall: 4 × 2 3/4 in. (10.2 × 7 cm)
Credit LineThe Rienzi Collection, bequest of Caroline A. Ross
Object number2005.1622
Non exposé

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Department
Rienzi
Description

An inscription on a slip of paper found behind J. T. Mitchell´s sweet portrait of two young children identifies the sitters as the twins Elizabeth Mary and Augustus William Hillary.


As was typical for the time, the twins are depicted wearing almost identical clothing--long muslin dresses with blue ribbon sashes.  In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, both boys and girls wore skirts until male children were “breeched,” or given trousers to wear, at some point between the ages of 4 and 6.  The artist has taken care to distinguish their genders: Elizabeth, her head covered by a lace bonnet, cradles a fluffy lapdog in her arms while Augustus gathers his sister in a protective embrace.  The miniature’s excellent state preserves the original coloration of the children’s rosy cheeks and dramatic blue background.


Provenance[Christie’s, London, 28 May 2002, lot 148]; [Judy & Brian Harden Antiques, Gloucester, U.K.]; Caroline Ross, 2002; bequest to MFAH, 2005.
Exhibition History"Love Tokens: Portrait Miniatures from the Caroline A. Ross Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Alice Pratt Brown Gallery and Rienzi; Drawing Room, November 3, 2007-March 3, 2008.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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