Miniature painting of Immanuel Episcopal Church

1860-1880

Measurements

Frame: 4-3/4 in x 4-1/4 in x 1/2 in; sight, 2-5/8 in x 2 in

Materials

Ink and watercolor on paper, gutta-percha frame with copper and leather

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, gift of Francis Hort Sharp

Accession Number

1981.266

Condition Notes

The lower right 1/4-inch tip of the frame has broken off and is missing.  The picture has small areas of staining.

Provenance

Ex coll. Margaret Janvier Hort

Comments

The round miniature image (1-7/8 inches in diameter) shows the Immanuel Episcopal Church on the Green in New Castle, Delaware, set within a walled-in yard with trees nearby.  A white railed fence is in the foreground.  Immanuel Episcopal Church was founded in 1689 as the first Anglican church in Delaware.  The church was constructed of stone between 1703 and 1708.  A transept, bell tower, and steeple were completed as part of an enlargement by Philadelphia architect William Strickland (1788-1854) in 1822.

The frame is molded of gutta-percha, a natural plastic-like material that becomes pliable when heated.  It comes from Southeast Asian gutta-percha trees.  A stamped copper liner wraps around the picture and presses into the frame, held in place by a strip of leather compressed between the two.