John Thomas Barber Beaumont, Portrait of a Woman, ca. 1795

Chicago:

Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, “John Thomas Barber Beaumont, Portrait of a Woman, ca. 1795,” catalogue entry in Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, Blythe Sobol, and Maggie Keenan, The Starr Collection of Portrait Miniatures, 1500–1850: The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, vol. 2, ed. Aimee Marcereau DeGalan (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2024), https://doi.org/10.37764/8322.5.1302.

MLA:

Marcereau DeGalan, Aimee. “John Thomas Barber Beaumont, Portrait of a Woman, ca. 1795,” catalogue entry. Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, Blythe Sobol, and Maggie Keenan. The Starr Collection of Portrait Miniatures, 1500–1850: The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, edited by Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, vol. 2, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2024. doi: 10.37764/8322.5.1302.

See the artist’s biography in volume 4.

John Thomas Barber Beaumont had a penchant for capturing actors and comely women in his works. He also painted army officers and several members of the court of King George IV, including the monarch himself.¹ This portrait features a blue-eyed woman with powdered and frizzled hair, wearing what at first appears to be a white mob cap adorned with a blue ribbon. Upon closer inspection, however, it is actually an ornate headpiece of white ostrich feathers. As one of the most expensive accessories of the period, ostrich feathers were also associated with the Prince of Wales and thus demonstrate her allegiance to the court.

Gazing directly at the viewer, the subject clutches an object in her hands, which may be interpreted as a small bird or a needlework creation. These elements symbolize the virtues of nurture and craftsmanship, attributes that would have been appealing to prospective suitors. Barber Beaumont recognized the marketability of depicting beautiful women, whether society ladies, as is likely the case with the present portrait, or actors. He realized portraits of several prominent stage figures, including the comic actress Dorothy Jordan (1761–1816), who, in her portrait by Beaumont, gestures to herself, just as the present sitter does. Miniatures of Jordan, as well as other actors, circulated widely in print during the early 1800s, suggesting that Beaumont collaborated with print-sellers to expand his revenue streams.²

Examining Beaumont’s artistic technique reveals his meticulous attention to detail. In portraits of women, he frequently used an underlying blue/gray tint, which lends a coolness to his sitter’s complexions, as evidenced in the present portrait.³ He also carefully manipulates the sitter’s hair, using the end of his brush to create textured effects. By delicately scratching into the paint, he enhances the appearance of the sitter’s haphazard curls, infusing the portrait with depth and dimension. In this captivating portrait, Barber Beaumont’s talent for rendering beauty and his astute awareness of marketing trends shine through, inviting viewers to imagine the intriguing story behind this enigmatic sitter.

Notes

1. David Anthony Beaumont, a descendant of the artist, reproduced a number of miniatures by Barber Beaumont that appeared in a former Christie’s sale, including a portrait of George IV. See David Anthony Beaumont, Barber Beaumont (London: Witherby, 1999), 6–7.

2. See Anthony Carden (1772–1813), after John Thomas Barber Beaumont, Mr. Cooke in the Character of Richard III, stipple engraving, published June 1, 1805, by John P. Thompson, London, 4 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. (11.43 x 8.89 cm), Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, DC, 21456, https://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/detail/FOLGERCM1~6~6~270831~118603; William Ridley (1764–1838), after John Thomas Barber Beaumont, Dorothy Jordan, stipple engraving, published December 31, 1804, by Vernor and Hood, London, 6 7/8 x 4 3/4 in. (17.6 x 12 cm), National Portrait Gallery, London, NPG D15024, https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw69898. The British Museum houses a number of additional stipple engravings of actors after miniatures by Beaumont; see “John Thomas Barber Beaumont: Related Objects,” British Museum, accessed June 9, 2023, https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG155704.

3. Beaumont, Barber Beaumont, 8.

Mr. John W. (1905–2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane (1906–2011) Starr, Kansas City, MO, by 1958;

Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1958.

Ross E. Taggart, The Starr Collection of Miniatures in the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery (Kansas City, MO: Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, 1971), no. 189, p. 64, (repro.), as Unknown Lady.