Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 4 pages
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
The Fink miniature catalog describes this as a bust-length, three-quarter right self-portrait of William Russell Birch. However, a note in the file of a now lost inscription on the back of the frame gives the date of the portrait as 1835, the year after Birch died. In addition the inscription is ambigious. It could be read as suggesting that the portrait was a gift from the artist to his daughter, or that the portrait was painted by Louisa Birch "from her father."
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
12293
label
Self Portrait (William Russell Birch)
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
4
Source metadata
id
12293
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Self Portrait (William Russell Birch)
description
The Fink miniature catalog describes this as a bust-length, three-quarter right self-portrait of William Russell Birch. However, a note in the file of a now lost inscription on the back of the frame gives the date of the portrait as 1835, the year after Birch died. In addition the inscription is ambigious. It could be read as suggesting that the portrait was a gift from the artist to his daughter, or that the portrait was painted by Louisa Birch "from her father."
provenance
Augustin R. Peale, Jr., Philadelphia [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; A.J. Fink [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; A.J. Fink Foundation, Inc., Baltimore, 1963, by bequest; Walters Art Museum, 1963, by gift.
date
ca. 1834
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Miniatures
miniatures (paintings)
self-portraits
imageCount
4
pageCount
4
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
6.7
height
5.1
dimensionsRaw
H excluding frame: 2 5/8 x W: 2 in. (6.67 x 5.08 cm); Framed H: 5 x W: 4 1/4 in. (12.7 x 10.8 cm)
Source extras
inscriptions
[Inscription] On torn paper on reverse: LOUISA S. BIRCH / from her father / Nov. 24th 18?? [a previous note in the files gives the year as 1835]
med
watercolor on ivory
creator_ids
6447
collection_ids
EAN
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
48d9cb3e21f78942
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
dede5c37f6fc7ce5
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
eab201dc225ddc41
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
4
type
photo
mediaId
db44db408a8de6f0
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no