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#ellen wallace sharples

yr-obedt-cicero · 1 year

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Ellen Sharples's miniature of Hamilton

I found an interesting - yet questionable - miniature of Alexander Hamilton. According to The Walter Art Museum, it was painted by Ellen Sharples, the wife of James Sharples, in 1796. Although the miniature lacks any date or signature.

Ellen Wallace Sharples was an English painter who specialized in pastel portraiture and watercolor miniatures on ivory. She met artist James Sharples in Bath when she became his student. They married in 1787, and she became his third wife. The couple emigrated with their children to the US around 1794, where they would follow in the footsteps of English artists who capitalized on the burgeoning demand for portraiture in the New World. Ellen began drawing portraits professionally around 1797, while they were residing in Philadelphia, to supplement the financial well-being of the family. Ellen's career flourished as a result of her husband's original portraits being copied on request, and her miniature reproductions were sold for the same as her husband's. Miniature portraits, such as the Sharples', were affordable and interesting, and made good gifts to significant others—alternative to Gilbert Stuart's and John Trumbull's larger scale and more formal portraits.

Evidently Ellen's artstyle is almost completely identical to her husband's, as you can see when you compare Ellen's to Sharples's version of Hamilton that was also painted in 1796. Which makes me think Ellen's above was one of the copies she made, considering the similarities and same date. Ellen also made portraits of other notable figures like Washington, Theodosia Burr Alston, and even Elizabeth Hamilton (Also in 1796).

What caught my interest the most though was the braided hair in the back. The contrasting colors indicate that they belonged to separate people, an auburn brown with ginger highlights, and a dark brown. It is my best guess that these were Hamilton's and Eliza's hairs, as they seem to match roughly with them. Eliza kept many clippings of Hamilton's hair, as it was tradition for the time. To quote Susan Holloway Scott; “But hair from from a famous head became more than a mourning memento. It was history, a surviving reminder of a notable man or woman. Famous hair was collected and treasured as a tangible reminder of a more glorious past.” [x] Besides her sons inheriting the treasured strands of hair, she also had a mourning ring with Hamilton's hair locked inside. [x]

And the hairs on Ellen's miniature seem to decently match Hamilton's surviving ones;

Image source.

#Either way it's a good painting! Captures his aging but good looks #amrev #american history #alexander hamilton #historical alexander hamilton #history #ellen wallace sharples #james sharples #elizabeth hamilton #elizabeth schuyler #historical artwork #cicero's history lessons

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abwwia · 3 months

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Ellen Sharples, Sarah Lloyd Hillhouse, n.d., pastel on paper, sheet: 9 1⁄8 x 7 1⁄8 in. (23.1 x 18.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. John Mason Frier, 1970.356

#bornonthisday Ellen Wallace Sharples (4 March 1769 – 14 March 1849) was an English painter specialized in portraits in pastel and in watercolor miniatures on ivory.[1] She exhibited five miniatures at the Royal Academy in 1807, and founded the Bristol Fine Arts Academy in 1844 with a substantial gift. Via Wikipedia

#EllenSharples #SarahLloydHillhouse #artherstory #artbywomen #womensart #palianshow #art #womenartists #femaleartist #artist

#Ellen Sharples #art by women #art #palianshow #Sarah Lloyd Hillhouse

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si-national-portrait-gallery · 3 years

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