Treasures of the American Art Initiative:
Thomas Young

The fashion of painting miniature portraits developed as a genre of traditional portrait painting. By creating a miniature likeness of a loved one, the artist enabled the recipient to carry or wear the image wherever he or she might like. Miniature portrait painting flourished during the American Revolution and continued into the middle of the nineteenth century.

The Museum has been fortunate to acquire an excellent example of this genre, A Portrait of A Gentleman, by artist Thomas Young.

Thomas Young (1765-1821) spent his professional career in Providence, where his prominent sitters included the Senator and Governor of Rhode Island. Young’s miniature of Mary Thayer Holden is in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Signed miniatures by this artist are exceedingly rare.

Set in the original rolled gold pendant frame with beaded bezel, this miniature is signed on the backing paper: Thos. Young/1799. It is interesting to note that the miniature has a square of silver foil behind the face, a European technique virtually unknown in America in the 18th century.