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Ellen Walters (1822-1862), the wife of William T. Walters, was the daughter of a prosperous Philadelphia merchant. She died at the age of 40, leaving her husband with two children to raise: Henry (1848-1931) and Jennie (1853-1922). To paint this miniature 35 years after Ellen's death, the artist worked from a daguerreotype made in 1846, the year of her marriage.William Jacob Baer was born in Cincinnati in 1860, where he was trained in lithography. In 1880 he traveled to Munich to study drawing and painting at the Royal Academy. When he returned to the United States, he lived in New Jersey where he taught drawing and painting at Princeton University. In 1893 he moved to New York and where he first painted portrait miniatures; by 1894 he had given up easel painting all together to focus exclusively on this genre. He helped found the American Society of Miniature Painters, and is considered instrumental in the revival of miniature at the end of the 19th century. Baer exhibited both nationally and internationally, at the Exposition Universelle (1900), Pan-American Exposition (1901), Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904), and the Panama-Pacific Exposition (1915), where he work was well received. He seems to have found particular success with Henry Walters and his relatives. The Walters Art Museum holds six works on ivory by the artist.

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Page
2
Source index
0
Type
photo
Media ID
e2756942ddf1a4dd
Size
unknown

Document data

ID
34178
Core
obj
Type
object
DTO data
{
    "id": "34178",
    "sourceUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/38.629",
    "contentType": "object",
    "stage": "normalized",
    "title": "Portrait of Ellen Harper Walters",
    "description": "Ellen Walters (1822-1862), the wife of William T. Walters, was the daughter of a prosperous Philadelphia merchant. She died at the age of 40, leaving her husband with two children to raise: Henry (1848-1931) and Jennie (1853-1922). To paint this miniature 35 years after Ellen's death, the artist worked from a daguerreotype made in 1846, the year of her marriage.William Jacob Baer was born in Cincinnati in 1860, where he was trained in lithography. In 1880 he traveled to Munich to study drawing and painting at the Royal Academy. When he returned to the United States, he lived in New Jersey where he taught drawing and painting at Princeton University. In 1893 he moved to New York and where he first painted portrait miniatures; by 1894 he had given up easel painting all together to focus exclusively on this genre. He helped found the American Society of Miniature Painters, and is considered instrumental in the revival of miniature at the end of the 19th century. Baer exhibited both nationally and internationally, at the Exposition Universelle (1900), Pan-American Exposition (1901), Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904), and the Panama-Pacific Exposition (1915), where he work was well received. He seems to have found particular success with Henry Walters and his relatives. The Walters Art Museum holds six works on ivory by the artist.",
    "provenance": "Owned by Mrs. Frederick B. Adams [1]; given to Walters Art Museum, 1972.[1] Granddaughter of Ellen Harper Walters. It is likely this object passed to Mrs. Adams by inheritance.",
    "date": "1897",
    "citationUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/38.629",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
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        "Miniatures",
        "miniatures (paintings)",
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    ],
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    "largeImageUrl": "https://art.thewalters.org/images/art/PS3_38.629_Back_DD_T13.jpg",
    "imageCount": 2,
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    "source": "import",
    "dimensions": [
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            "units": "cm",
            "width": 11.5,
            "height": 7.8
        }
    ],
    "dimensionsRaw": "H: 4 1/2 × W: 3 1/16 in. (11.5 × 7.8 cm)"
}

Context sent to Scholar

Document identity
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    "localId": "34178",
    "label": "Portrait of Ellen Harper Walters",
    "core": "obj",
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    "citationUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/38.629"
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Document source metadata
{
    "id": "34178",
    "sourceUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/38.629",
    "contentType": "object",
    "stage": "normalized",
    "title": "Portrait of Ellen Harper Walters",
    "description": "Ellen Walters (1822-1862), the wife of William T. Walters, was the daughter of a prosperous Philadelphia merchant. She died at the age of 40, leaving her husband with two children to raise: Henry (1848-1931) and Jennie (1853-1922). To paint this miniature 35 years after Ellen's death, the artist worked from a daguerreotype made in 1846, the year of her marriage.William Jacob Baer was born in Cincinnati in 1860, where he was trained in lithography. In 1880 he traveled to Munich to study drawing and painting at the Royal Academy. When he returned to the United States, he lived in New Jersey where he taught drawing and painting at Princeton University. In 1893 he moved to New York and where he first painted portrait miniatures; by 1894 he had given up easel painting all together to focus exclusively on this genre. He helped found the American Society of Miniature Painters, and is considered instrumental in the revival of miniature at the end of the 19th century. Baer exhibited both nationally and internationally, at the Exposition Universelle (1900), Pan-American Exposition (1901), Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904), and the Panama-Pacific Exposition (1915), where he work was well received. He seems to have found particular success with Henry Walters and his relatives. The Walters Art Museum holds six works on ivory by the artist.",
    "provenance": "Owned by Mrs. Frederick B. Adams [1]; given to Walters Art Museum, 1972.[1] Granddaughter of Ellen Harper Walters. It is likely this object passed to Mrs. Adams by inheritance.",
    "date": "1897",
    "citationUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/38.629",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Miniatures",
        "miniatures (paintings)",
        "portraits"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://art.thewalters.org/images/art/PS3_38.629_Back_DD_T13.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://art.thewalters.org/images/art/PS3_38.629_Back_DD_T13.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://art.thewalters.org/images/art/PS3_38.629_Back_DD_T13.jpg",
    "imageCount": 2,
    "pageCount": 2,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensions": [
        {
            "units": "cm",
            "width": 11.5,
            "height": 7.8
        }
    ],
    "dimensionsRaw": "H: 4 1/2 × W: 3 1/16 in. (11.5 × 7.8 cm)"
}
Document source extras
{
    "inscriptions": "[Signature] W. J. BAER.; [Date] 1897",
    "med": "watercolor on ivory, gold (?) frame",
    "creator_ids": [
        "3651"
    ],
    "collection_ids": [
        "EAN"
    ],
    "exhibition_ids": [
        "3100"
    ]
}
Page context
{
    "seq": 2,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://art.thewalters.org/images/raw/PS3_38.629_Back_DD_T13.jpg",
    "mediaId": "e2756942ddf1a4dd"
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