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Self Portrait (William Russell Birch)

ca. 1834

The Walters Art Museum

The Walters Art Museum
Baltimore, United States

The Fink miniature catalog describes this as a bust-length, three-quarter right self-portrait of William Russell Birch. However, a note in the file of a now lost inscription on the back of the frame gives the date of the portrait as 1835, the year after Birch died. In addition the inscription is ambigious. It could be read as suggesting that the portrait was a gift from the artist to his daughter, or that the portrait was painted by Louisa Birch "from her father."

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  • Title: Self Portrait (William Russell Birch)
  • Creator: William Russell Birch (British, 1755-1834)
  • Date Created: ca. 1834
  • Subject Keywords: self-portraits
  • External Link: For more information about this and thousands of other works of art in the Walters Art Museum collection, please visit art.thewalters.org
  • Roles: Artist: William Russell Birch (British, 1755-1834)
  • Provenance: Augustin R. Peale, Jr., Philadelphia [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; A.J. Fink [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; A.J. Fink Foundation, Inc., Baltimore, 1963, by bequest; Walters Art Museum, 1963, by gift.
  • Object Type: miniatures (paintings); self-portraits
  • Medium: watercolor on ivory
  • Inscriptions: [Inscription] On torn paper on reverse: LOUISA S. BIRCH / from her father / Nov. 24th 18?? [a previous note in the files gives the year as 1835]
  • Dimensions: H excluding frame: 2 5/8 x W: 2 in. (6.67 x 5.08 cm); Framed H: 5 x W: 4 1/4 in. (12.7 x 10.8 cm)
  • Credit Line: Gift of the A. Jay Fink Foundation, Inc., Baltimore, in memory of Abraham Jay Fink, 1963
  • Classification: Miniatures
  • Accession Number: 38.446
The Walters Art Museum

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