# Col. Josiah Parker

**John Ramage** (born Dublin, Ireland ca. 1748-died Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1802)  
ca. 1789  
watercolor on ivory  
1 5/8 x 1 1/4 in. (4.2 x 3.2 cm) oval

Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1957.3.3. [The museum's record](https://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=20338).

## About this work

Josiah Parker was a Revolutionary soldier and politician. He served in Virginia under George Washington, becoming a major in 1776 and a colonel the following year. He saw action at the battles of Trenton, Princeton, and Brandywine. His short temper got the better of him, however, and he resigned from the army in 1778. Thereafter he served as a naval officer for Norfolk, Virginia, and was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. As a member of the First Congress, he voted to place the U.S. Capitol on the Potomac. Although he appears in his uniform, it is likely this miniature was painted when Parker took his seat in Congress.

_Text from the Smithsonian American Art Museum._

John Ramage painted this in about 1789, aged 41. It is now at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC.

### How it was made

- **Watercolour on ivory.** Thin sheets of ivory gave watercolour a luminous, skin-like glow, which made them the favourite support for portrait miniatures from the early 1700s.
- **Watercolour.** Pigment in gum arabic, thinned with water and laid in transparent washes. Nothing white is painted: the light is the paper showing through.

### [John Ramage](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/john-ramage)

born Dublin, Ireland ca. 1748-died Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1802

## Facts

- Type: Painting-Miniature
- The artist was 41
- Real size: about 1½ × 1½ in (4 × 3 cm). The original is small: even the 8 × 10 in print shows it larger than life.
- Century: 18th century
- Subjects: Uniforms, Occupations, Clothing and dress, Men, Portraits, Military
- Colour: black
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1915.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1915/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/col-josiah-parker-si-saam-1957-3-3).