id: 123418 accession number: 1943.649 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1943.649 updated: Portrait of a Woman, 1790s. Andrew Plimer (British, 1763–1837). Watercolor on ivory in a period gold frame; framed: 8.4 x 6.8 cm (3 5/16 x 2 11/16 in.); sight: 7.1 x 6 cm (2 13/16 x 2 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Edward B. Greene Collection 1943.649 title: Portrait of a Woman title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1790s creation date earliest: 1790 creation date latest: 1799 current location: creditline: The Edward B. Greene Collection copyright: --- culture: England, 18th century technique: watercolor on ivory in a period gold frame department: European Painting and Sculpture collection: P - British before 1800 type: Portrait Miniature find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Andrew Plimer (British, 1763–1837) - artist Born the sons of a clockmaker, Nathaniel Plimer and his younger brother Andrew initially trained in their father's profession, although they grew restless with this trade, and ran off to live with Gypsies for two years. By 1781, they were together in London, and determined to practice art. Both took up residence with established artists. Nathaniel worked as a servant to the enamellist, Henry Bone, whereas Andrew became the valet to the portrait and miniature painter, Richard Cosway. Cosway discovered Andrew copying one of his miniatures and introduced him to miniature painting. Andrew assimilated his master's airy execution and adapted Cosway's linear brushwork which leaves much of the bare ivory visible. He also employed Cosway's use of large, expressive eyes which made his miniatures appear soulfully elegant, earning him high praise amongst legions of admirers. A quick study, Andrew set up his own studio by 1786 and he exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy of Arts from 1786-1830. Andrew Plimer's works fall into two phases. In the first, his sitters appear more naturalistically rendered than those painted after around 1789. During the earlier period he frequently included his initials, "A.P.," on the front of the miniature, followed by a date. By contrast, he did not sign or date works in the second phase. Furthermore, in Andrew's second phase of work, he reduced his palette and perhaps due to his high output, sitters share many visual characteristics; in particular, his women have elongated necks, long noses and large appealing eyes. --- measurements: Framed: 8.4 x 6.8 cm (3 5/16 x 2 11/16 in.); Sight: 7.1 x 6 cm (2 13/16 x 2 3/8 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Disembodied: Portrait Minatures and their Contemporary Relatives opening date: 2013-11-10T00:00:00 Disembodied: Portrait Minatures and their Contemporary Relatives. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (November 10, 2013-February 16, 2014). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * Main Gallery Rotation (Gallery 202), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 5, 2009 - April 6, 2009). --- PROVENANCE (Sale: Christie's London, November 1929). date: 1929 footnotes: citations: (Leo Schidlof (1886-1966), Paris, France, sold to Edward B. Greene). date: -1930 footnotes: citations: Edward B. Greene (1878-1957), Cleveland, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art date: 1930-1943 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 1943- footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: The miniature remains in its original gold frame, which has a curl of dark brown hair over blue glass on the back. digital description: wall description: This sitter has curly hair falling around her neck and into which are woven two pearl ornaments. She wears a plain, low-neck white dress. Usually made of lightweight cotton muslin and high-waisted, this type of dress became popular at the end of the eighteenth century and was intended to refer to classical antiquity. Similar garments are worn by many of the female sitters depicted by Andrew Plimer during this period. The background is a blue-gray sky with prominent gray crosshatching. This miniature is an accomplished example of Plimer’s work, with the sitter’s features soft but individualized and not given over to the doll-like caricature that appears in the artist’s other portraits of this date. The work is unsigned, as was typical for Plimer at this time. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Cleveland Museum of Art. Portrait Miniatures: The Edward B. Greene Collection. Cleveland OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1951 page number: Reproduced: p. 29, no. 28, pl. XXI url: https://archive.org/details/PortraitMiniatures/page/n67 Cleveland Museum of Art, and Alan Chong. European & American Painting in the Cleveland Museum of Art: A Summary Catalogue. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1993. page number: p. 301 url: Korkow, Cory, and Dario Robleto. Disembodied: Portrait Miniatures and Their Contemporary Relatives. 2013. page number: Mentioned: p.83 url: Korkow, Cory, and Jon L. Seydl. British Portrait Miniatures: The Cleveland Museum of Art. 2013. page number: Cat. no. 55, pp. 222-223 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1943.649/1943.649_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1943.649/1943.649_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1943.649/1943.649_full.tif