Love and loss : American portrait and mourning miniatures
"Portrait miniatures, small enough to fit in the palm of the hand, are unique among works of art for their highly personal associations. At the height of their American popularity, from 1760 to about 1840, these cherished portraits were frequently commissioned as a way to hold on to absent loved ones. This illustrated book reproduces and discusses some 100 portrait and mourning miniatures. Robin Jaffee Frank examines the miniatures in detail, offering new insights into their role in American art and social history. Through painstaking detective work, she uncovers the stories of the people who sat for them and the people who treasured them, restoring to these intimate tokens their power to move us."
Print Book, English, 2000
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 2000