Lot 203: Possibly Robert Field, (American, born in England c. 1769-1819), Portrait Miniature of Thomas Jefferson c. 1800. Unsigned. Watercolor o

Possibly Robert Field, (American, born in England c. 1769-1819),

Portrait Miniature of Thomas Jefferson c. 1800. Unsigned. Watercolor on ivory, c. 1800, oval bust-length portrait, 2 1/2 x 2 in., in an oval gilt-brass pendant case, the reverse with blue glass border surrounding an oval aperture containing plaited locks of blond and brown hair overlaid with "TJ" cipher in gilt foil, further housed in an oval silk-lined red leather case.

Note: Robert Field, the prominent American miniaturist and engraver, painted Thomas Jefferson (likely from life) in a small watercolor done around 1797, and in 1807 created an engraving of Jefferson after Gilbert Stuart's famous portrait. No documentation exists that shows Field painted Jefferson in miniature on ivory, but according to Field scholar Harry Piers, there does exist a miniature in oil inscribed in another hand "Jefferson. After Stuart by Robt. Field. Also engraved by R.F. Died in 1819."