Colonel George Watson (1718–1800)

Colonel George Watson (1718–1800)

1796–97
Edward Greene Malbone
American, 1777–1807
Watercolor on ivory, in a replacement frame
2 7/8 x 2 1/4 in. (7.3 x 5.7 cm)

On view in the American Art before 1900 galleries

It was a daughter’s love for her father that inspired the creation of this miniature. After Mary Watson Hutchinson moved away from the Watson family in Massachusetts to join her husband in England, she received the miniature from her sister. In April 1797, Mary wrote to her sister to thank her for the newly painted portrait of their father. “The sight of my dear Parent’s picture was indeed very affecting to me. . . . I cannot contemplate it without sensible emotion. It is quite a trial to me to part with it long enough to have it sette [sic].” Aware of the intense emotional value of such objects, Mary also owned a pendant miniature portrait of her mother, Elizabeth Watson, and commissioned a pair of small portraits of herself and her husband to pass on to her children. These other miniatures are also on view in the gallery. 

1955.5.7
Yale University Art Gallery, Mabel Brady Garvan Fund