Existing comment:
Louisa Adams (1775–1852)
Born London, United Kingdom
Made during the first decade of the nineteenth century (before the advent of photography), this hollow-cut silhouette represents the period's most popular form of portraiture. Because only limited visual information can be gleaned from profiles, historians often rely upon inscriptions, like the ones atop this portrait, to identify sitters. John Quincy Adams added the inscription to this silhouette in 1809, when he had it framed together with silhouettes of himself, John Adams, and Abigail Adams.
Henry Williams (1787–1830)
Hollow-cut silhouette, 1809
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution |