Judge Thomas Ewing
ca. 1840
Medium
Painting-Miniature
Classification
Painting-Miniature
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Alexander Vernon Wasson
Accession Number
1976.31
Tags
About this artwork
Judge Thomas Ewing, born in West Virginia in 1789, began his career as a schoolteacher in Ohio. He went on to practice law and in 1830 was elected to the U.S. Senate. This portrait shows Ewing at around fifty-five years old, about the time he became secretary of the treasury for President Tyler.
Art Historical Context
This exquisite miniature portrait, *Judge Thomas Ewing*, painted by Daniel Dickinson around 1840, captures the likeness of a pivotal figure in early American politics. Depicting Ewing as a bust-length subject at about age 55, the work exemplifies the intimate scale and precision of 19th-century miniature painting typically executed on ivory with fine brushes to create lifelike details in a portable format. These small-scale gems were cherished as personal mementos, often worn as jewelry or kept in cases, reflecting the era's emphasis on family legacy and individual achievement. Thomas Ewing, ...