Micah Williams Portrait Artist - Icompendium

These portraits are excellent
examples of Micah Williams at the peak
of his artistic career. The images appear
to have been completed sometime
between 1823 and 1825, before Williams
relocated to New York in 1828 or early
1829. Williams included numerous details,
all rendered carefully but confidently,
without detracting from the main
composition of color, form, and line.
Many Richmond family members lived
in and around New Brunswick. At the
time the portraits were donated, the
sitters were identified as Ann and
Edward Richmond. Subsequent research
has not yet uncovered information
about them. Both appear to be in their
late thirties.
Ann was bare headed, her dark brown
hair braided and coiled atop her head
and held with a large tortoiseshell comb.
Two small severe curls perched on either
side of her temples. Her black dress, with
style elements indicating a circa date
between 1823 and 1825, was enlivened by
a black belt with two narrow edging
bands of vivid blue. Ann’s jewelry
included a pair of heavily beaded black
pendant earrings.
Dark haired Edward sported a decided
cleft in his chin and a visible five
o’clock shadow along his upper lip and
cAtAlogue no. 47
Ann Richmond
Pastel on paper
Middlesex County, New Jersey,
circa 1823-1825
25 7 ⁄16 x 29 1 ⁄2 inches
Courtesy of Jersey Blue Chapter, NJ
Daughters of the American Revolution,
Hatfield Smith Collection at Buccleuch
Mansion Museum
cAtAlogue no. 48
Edward Richmond
Pastel on paper
Middlesex County, New Jersey,
circa 1823-1825
29 1 ⁄2 x 25 5 ⁄8 inches
Courtesy of Jersey Blue Chapter, NJ
Daughters of the American Revolution,
Hatfield Smith Collection at Buccleuch
Mansion Museum
chin. There is a good deal of pigment
loss in Edward’s portrait, particularly
in the areas of the sitter’s collar and
shirtfront as well as in the background.
The pigment loss allows a glimpse of the
artist’s initial sketch lines for Edward’s
shirt. The swirls in the background were
meant to be covered by additional layers
of pigment. Williams used this technique
to give a subtle liveliness to his single
color backgrounds.
82 Micah Williams: Portrait Artist Micah Williams: Portrait Artist 83