Beauty Revealed (Self Portrait) by Sarah Goodridge

Beauty Revealed (Self Portrait)

Beauty Revealed (Self Portrait) c1828 by American Painter Sarah Goodridge (1788 – 1853); who specialized in portrait miniatures and older sister of Elizabeth Goodridge (1798 – 1882), a miniaturist as well.

This is an interesting self portrait done by the American Painter Sarah Goodridge when she was 40 years of age; a popular miniature portrait painter of her time.

It is a water color miniature painted on a 2.6 inch by 3.1 inch piece of ivory, depicting only the artist breast, that are surrounded by a white cloth.

She gave the portrait to the statesman Daniel Webster (1782 – 1852), who was a frequent subject of hers, with some believing that he was her lover as well, following the death of his wife.

This is a retouched digital art old masters reproduction of a public domain image.

Info Below Derived From Wikipedia.org

Sarah was the third daughter and sixth child of Ebenezer Goodridge and Beulah Childs. and was born in Templeton, Massachusetts on February 5, 1788.

At an early age she demonstrated a talent for art with the drawings she created, and because educational opportunities were limited in the area that she lived, especially for woman; she essentially was a self taught artist.

Sarah’s early works, which were sketches of people were done on birch bark since she did not have the money ot purchase paper; and by 1820 when she went to live in Boston, Massachusetts with her sister Eliza, she began taking lessons in painting and creating miniature portraits.

From the commissions she earned from her miniature portraits she was able to support herself and family; and over time would specialize in creating miniature portraits on ivory.

It is believed that the ivory painting training she received was most likely from American engraver, miniature painter and cartoonist Elkanah Tisdale (1768 – 1835); known for the famous cartoon “The Gerry-Mander”, published in the Boston Gazette on March 26, 1812, which led to the coining of the term gerrymandering.

Sarah became a well known painter of miniatures due to her paintings of correspondent and politician Daniel Webster (1782 – 1852) and fellow-artist Gilbert Stuart (1755 – 1828); with one of her best pieces being Beauty Revealed a miniature portrait of her own bared breast presented to Mr. Webster.