Alicia Middleton was the daughter of Nathaniel Russell and Sarah Hopton. With her son Ralph Izard Middleton and daughter Ann Manigault Middleton, she left for Europe on 10 May 1835 for an eighteen-month Grand Tour, visiting London, Paris, Rome, Florence, and Naples.
A native of Aberdeen, Andrew Robertson began practicing art at fourteen. He studied with the portraitist Henry Raeburn and upon his arrival in London in 1801 he was encouraged by Benjamin West. He exhibited extensively at the Royal Academy and was appointed miniature painter to the baron of Sussex in 1805. The large format of his miniatures appears to imitate full-scale oil portraits, representing a trend in miniature portrait painting that emerged in the 1830s in response to the increasing popularity of photography. While demonstrating a distinct realism in depicting her face, the artist also emphasizes bright, contrasting colors and the sitter's fashionable clothing.
Notes:
This text is adapted from Martha Severens "The Miniature Portrait Collection of the Carolina Art Association" published by the Carolina Art Association, 1984
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