Thomas Wix Borden at the age of Two Years
ca. 1820
Medium
Painting-Miniature
Classification
Painting-Miniature
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Mary Elizabeth Spencer
Accession Number
1999.27.72.3
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
Thomas Hicks Borden, the son of John and Comfort Cory, was born in 1820 and this miniature depicts him at two years of age. Thomas’s portrait is very different from those of his parents because the artist painted the child’s entire figure, a more expensive option for a painter’s clients. Thomas wears a vibrant red gown in a period when children of both sexes wore dresses until the age of three or four. Skirts symbolized dependence, but Thomas holds a whip to establish that he is male. Unlike his...
About the Artist
Unidentified ( ) · –