Self-Portrait

Henry Brintnell Bounetheau, born Charleston, SC 1797-died Charleston, SC 1877 · 1867

Although Henry Brintnell Bounetheau painted this work when he was seventy years old, an inscription inside the miniature makes it clear that he based it on the way he looked at age fifty. The artist may have had another miniature or picture of himself at this age to use as a guide in portraying himself younger than his true years. Conservation of this miniature was made possible through a generous grant provided by the Smithsonian Women’s Committee.