Mourning Miniature for Peter Epes Doswell
ARTIST: This piece is attributed to the artist Samuel Folwell (1764-1813). Folwell was a miniaturist, silhouettist, engraver, and hair worker, who first appears in America in 1788. In 1793 Folwell first opened a drawing school for young ladies in Philadelphia. There he probably collaborated with his wife Ann Elizabeth (Gebler) Folwell (1773-1824). Betty Ring has noted the preeminence of the Folwell school in Philadelphia during the 1790s.
To supplement his income, Samuel Folwell traveled up and down the coast—from New Hampshire to Georgia—selling needlework picture patterns and painting miniatures. The pose of the figures, their facial features, and certain background details relate to some of the surviving needlework and watercolor pieces from the Folwell school.
CASE: On the case reverse there is both a ring for hanging and the mounts for a pin, although the pin has been broken off at the clasp. A back window reveals plaited hairwork.
REFERENCES: Betty Ring, “Girlhood Embroidery” (New York: Knopf, 1993) 387
RELATED WORKS: Miniature portrait of Peter Doswell’s mother Mary Poythress Epes Doswell (MESDA Acc. No. 3187.1); needlework by Peter Doswell’s sister, Mary Elizabeth Poythress Doswell (MESDA Acc. No. 3187.3).
DESCRIPTION: Oval miniature on ivory in gold plated brass case of a woman in empire style dress. She leans over a square, inscribed monument where a dove is resting on the top. A willow tree is in the background, along with brown and blue-green plants.
