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Of Sentimental Value
A note by the Boston estate appraiser for George Nixon Black, Jr. belongings in 1928 states:
“Family and Friends-Photographs, Portraits, and Miniatures throughout the house-Sentimental Value Only.” Thus five miniature portraits were dispersed to Woodlawn as “family relics”. Undervalued in 1928, miniatures have gained in stature as more is learned about them, especially the Agnes Black miniature.
For centuries, miniature portraits were the only way to have a portable image of your beloved with you. Personal and intimate, the smallest were sometimes worn as a brooch, locket, or bracelet, while larger ones were suitable for display on a desk or mantlepiece. Some miniatures also displayed a lock of the person’s hair in the back of the frame. The invention of photography eliminated the need for miniatures. By the 1840s, daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes had become popular and accessible to the general public. Although photographs lacked color, they were faster to produce, less expensive, resulted in a more accurate likeness, and eventually could be duplicated repeatedly.
However, a few artists kept the minitature art form alive and by the late 19th century it was experiencing a revival. Three of Woodlawn’s miniatures date from the revival period. The Agnes Black miniature is an interesting combination of old and new. While it has all the qualities of a traditional miniature, it appears to have been painted from a photograph taken of Agnes at a Boston studio.
Agnes Black, sister of George Nixon Black, Jr., died suddenly of peritonitis in February 1886. The miniature portrait of Agnes is signed and dated 1886 by the artist, Canadian born Gerald S. Hayward. Comparison of the two clearly shows that the miniature was derived from the photograph. A lock of Agnes’ hair encased in the back of the gold frame supports the theory that the miniature was painted after Agnes’ death as a remembrance piece.
Gerald S. Hayward (1845-1926) learned the art of miniature painting in England where he painted members of the royal family. He returned to Canada in 1883, toured parts of the eastern United States, and eventually settled in New York City. Sought after by city leaders and socialites, his clients included Theodore Roosevelt and J. Pierpont Morgan. It is likely that the Agnes miniature was commissioned by either Mary Black or Nixon Black during one of Hayward’s visits to Boston.
Appreciation of an object increases with knowledge about it. In 1928, the Agnes
miniature may have only been an object of “sentimental value” but today we can link it to the revival of an artistic movement, to a highly respected artist, and to the only photograph of Agnes Black known to exist. It is one of Woodlawn’s hidden gems.
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