Micah Williams Portrait Artist - Icompendium

cAtAlogue no. 61
Unknown Man with Ruby Pin
Oil on canvas
New York, New York, circa 1830-1832
34 x 30 inches
Collection of Donna and Marvin Schwartz
cAtAlogue no. 62
Unknown Woman and Baby
Oil on canvas
New York, New York, circa 1830-1832
34 x 30 inches
Collection of Donna and Marvin Schwartz
Micah Williams was as confident and
capable in the medium of oil as he was
in pastel, as these two portraits clearly
indicate. The elegantly dressed man, with
his snowy shirtfront ruffle tucked into
his waistcoat, wore his brown coat, with
its stylish black collar, unbuttoned. By
the early 1830s, the shoulders of men’s
coats were increasingly peaked, resulting
in the “puffed” appearance seen here. The
man fastened a small pin with a small red
stone, surrounded by tiny pearls, to the
center of his shirt. His wife was equally
well dressed, with a glimpse of a wide belt
with a bright gold buckle at her waist.
One of her attractive pendant earrings
also seems to have been made of pearls.
The infant in her lap was most likely her
first child, as she did not yet adopt the
traditional ruffled and bow-bedecked day
cap seen in so many portraits.
Williams portrayed the serious infant
clutching its mother’s finger. The baby
wore strands of tiny coral beads around
its neck and throat. Although the infant’s
gown and cap were liberally trimmed
with pink ribbons, it is not possible to
determine whether the baby was a boy
or a girl.
cAtAlogue no. 63
Unknown Mother and Child
with Raspberries
Oil on canvas
New York, New York, circa 1830-1832
43 1 ⁄2 x 33 ³⁄4 inches
Collection of Edward King, Jr.
1. Jo B. Paoletti. Pink and Blue: Telling the Girls
from the Boys in America (Bloomington, IN:
Indiana University Press, 2012) 27.
2. Martha Gandy Fales. Jewelry in America
1600-1900 (Suffolk, England: Antique
Collectors’ Club, 1995) 57.
This portrait is one of Micah
Williams’ most evocative oil works. The
unknown woman posed with her baby
in her lap, her right arm supporting the
infant, while in her left hand she cupped
raspberries from which the child selected
a juicy berry. There are several clues
within the portrait to indicate that the
woman may have been one of New York’s
numerous foreign born residents.
The unknown lady wore her hair
much differently from the majority of
Williams’ female sitters. She coiled her
hair asymmetrically, holding it in place
with a beautifully carved white comb,
possibly made of ivory. The woman’s
dress differed from the accepted
daywear typical for American women.
The black gown, possibly of silk, was
made with a series of broad horizontal
pleats or tucks on either side of the
bodice. The woman did not wear the
usual white ruffled fichu, shawl, or collar.
Instead, a band of black lace edged the
wide boat neck of her dress.
The unknown woman’s jewelry was
rendered with the precision Williams
used in depicting the personal accessories
of all his sitters. She wore heavy
gold pendant earrings set with what
appear to be garnets. She tucked into
the waistband of her dress a gold pocket
watch, attached to a thick gold chain
with a pearl and gold filigree watch fob.
The sturdy and well-dressed baby appears
to be about twelve months old. A large
rosette of blue satin ribbon ornamented
the baby’s elaborately ruffled cap but
gives no clue to the infant’s gender.
The modern gender color usage of pink
for girls and blue for boys was not
popularized in the United States until
the 1940s. (1) The front panel of the
baby’s dress was richly embroidered, its
full skirts contrasting starkly against the
mother’s black dress. The baby also wore
a good deal of coral jewelry. Coral was
thought to have protective qualities for
the wearer and as such was a favorite for
children’s and infants’ jewelry. (2) The
eye-catching gilt emblem in the lower
left corner appears to be the decorative
upholstery ornamentation of the sofa
arm upon which the child was seated.
94 Micah Williams: Portrait Artist Micah Williams: Portrait Artist 95