Lot 487: Joseph Wood (1778-1830), 1807-1808

Portrait of a Gentleman
Inscribed in graphite below "J. Wood del. No3 Cedar St.t"
watercolor on paper
6 5/8 x 6 inches

Ellen G. Miles, Saint-Memin and the Neoclassical Profile Portrait in America (Washington, 1994), p. 113.

The Colony Shop, New York

Joseph Wood (1778-1830) was a miniature painter who worked in watercolor, oils and crayon. He is best known for his profile portraits, and for his use of the "physiognotrace" machines that became popular in the early nineteenth century. For more information on Wood, see George C. Croce, Jr., and J.T. Chase Willet, "Joseph Wood: A Brief Account of his Life and the First Catalogue of his Work," The Art Quarterly (Spring, 1940), pp. 148-161.