Miniature portrait of Benjamin Franklin Willard, unknown, c. 1825
96.332 Willard House and Clock Museum, gift of Mary Cowell
This 3” H by 2 1/4” W cameo portrait is the earliest miniature in the collection.
Oval right side half-length portrait of a young dark-haired gentleman in white high-collar shirt and black overcoat is painted in water-drop stippling method in contrast to the blue sky-like background done with parallel brushstrokes in hatching technique.
Golden base with ornamented framing.
The case is definitely American, probably from around 1825-1830, with a chased border, a beaded bezel and probably contained a lock of hair under glass inside a beaded bezel on the reverse.