John Gadsby, Jr.ca. 1829
John Gadsby Jr. was the son of the famous tavern keeper, John Gadsby, owner of Gadsby’s Tavern in Alexandria, Virginia. More about this work
About this work
John Gadsby Jr. was the son of the famous tavern keeper, John Gadsby, owner of Gadsby’s Tavern in Alexandria, Virginia. The tavern hosted Thomas Jefferson’s inaugural dinner and “birthright” balls to honor George Washington’s birthday. This work was painted in Washington, D.C., where Dickinson was based at the time. The painting was originally a stickpin, mounted on a long pin that was pushed through the fabric of the wearer’s cravat.
Text from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
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.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Smithsonian American Art Museum has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 1950.4.7
- Credit
- Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Type
- Painting-Miniature
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
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