1880-1890

Portrait of a Lady, Possibly Tragedienne

Photographs had largely taken the place of wax miniature portraits by the end of the 1800s, but some artists continued to work in this consciously historical medium, keeping up what was quickly becoming a lost art.

This portrait depicts a woman, possibly an actor (according to notes kept by a previous owner), in the new fashions of the 1880s, when collars crept higher and the loose curls of the 1870s were pinned higher onto the head in chignons. Modeled in brown wax over slate, its profile format and delicate details demonstrate the ongoing relationship between cameo carving and wax modeling into the late 1800s.