Portrait Miniature
Boy Grasping Red Book
.....Attributed to
JONATHAN ADAMS BARTLETT 

Watercolor on paper. Inscribed on the reverse of the paper: “J. Glines. Age 14 / Rumford, Me. 1857.” Unusually graphic in its execution.

At that time, portrait artist Jonathan Adams Bartlett was working in Rumford, Maine, though only a handful of his works are known today. Bartlett’s self-portrait appears as the frontispiece and back cover of American Folk Portraits (Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, Colonial Williamsburg), as well as on pages 46–47—alongside his signed portrait painted in 1841 of his fiancée Harriet A. Glines.

Notably, her surname “Glines” connects the young sitter in this miniature to Barlett. Also, Harriet’s portrait at Colonial Williamsburg is inscribed on the back in the same hand (Bartlett’s) that matches the inscription on the reverse of this miniature (compare “Glines” and “Age”). When considered all together—the location (Rumford, Maine), the surname Glines, and the matching handwriting—these elements provide compelling evidence for attributing this portrait to Johnathan Adams Bartlett.

As described in the Colonial Williamsburg book: [Bartlett] “incorporates a great wealth of detail and expresses exuberant delight in recording the form and color”—a fitting description of this portrait of young J. Glines.

The white areas around the sitter’s eyes and mouth are not the result of damage. Instead, they reflect Bartlett’s use of white paper, and opaque white paint to model the facial features and create depth. Over the last 175 years, the unpainted areas of the paper have toned to a warm brown, while the white paint has retained its brightness—creating a visual contrast. This is commonly observed in antique watercolors and a compelling sign of great age.

Presented in a finely painted period molded frame, measuring approximately 6½ inches by 5½ inches. From an fine private Northeast portrait collection. Perhaps the only miniature known by Jonathan Bartlett.