C A $ E O P O R T R A IT U R E

IN A $ E R I C A

BY H H API OWAR D $ . C N

IL L US TRA TED

PROV IDENCE PRINTED BY T H E P L I M P T O N P R E S S

R F O PRES TON a; ROU N DS c o . MCM$ V III

A 111 deeply indebted to L a wrence

k r o h A Edd P $ s se T . J . ar . a , p y, nd

the Museu m o F i e A r s a Bos o o r f n t , t t n , f

th eir as sistance and cooperation; to P ro

e r h sso Wi ia m C . Po a Mr C ar es f ll l nd , . l

e Ai r Ch es K . Bo o r ar . ar H n y H t , l lt n . V ’ I w H . s o AI . L . r . o ar Pre a r H d t n , nd

Earle R ow e for th eir suggestions and ih

terest; and to th e printed w orks of Isabel

Jloore F s ob er riclf , ranci H art H . and

Jle rr ia m C . Hart . N K 5 72 0 C 5

Read A pr il 1 0 1 91 8 w e A $ deeply indebted to Mr . L a r nce

k r h A E Par $ s ose T . a J . , . p ddy, nd th e Museum o F i e A r s a Bos o or f n t , t t n , f th eir assistance and cooperation; to P r o

W h es essor i iam C . Po a Mr C ar f ll l nd , . l

Bo o e r ar Mr Ch ar es K . H n y H t , . l lt n , A$ W. es o . L . r . ow ar Pr a Mr H d t n , nd

Earle R ow e for th eir suggestions and in terest; and to th e printed w or ks of Isabel

Moore F ra is obar erri k a , nc H t H c , nd

C . Hart

IL L UST RAT IONS

L . V . H A PI B b e J . C N y A nna l

F rontispiece

A PI b J . B. C H N A nna le

L L A b e 1 J . INC O N nna l 9 F O U R H UNT BR O S H u nt 21

$ R L Y K i 2‘ H . EE E ng 5

AUD UBON K ing 29

AUDUBON K ing 33

- ud JOH N H UT T ON St. $ a ens 35

E PH R A I$ ABBOT F oley 37

$ Y k $ . OR E Un nown 4 1

IL L UST RAT IONS

. L . V . C H A I B b e J C . P N y A nna l

F rontispiece

B. A J . C H PIN A nnable 1 5

. L I L e J S . NC O N A nnabl 1 9 F OUR H UNT BR O S H unt 21

H $ R L Y K i 2 . EE E ng 5

AUD U BON K ing 29

AUD UBON K ing 33

J H H T T t - u O N U ON S . $ a de ns 35

EPH R A I$ ABBOT F oley 37

$ Y k $ . OR E Un now n 4 1

C A$ EO POR T R AIT UR E IN A$ ER IC A

C ABIEO is an engraving A cut in relief upon stone , o r shell , glass , other hard substance having two o r more

O f layers color , and so treated

' as to utilize the e fle c t O f the f variety O coloring . Although this is the common usage O f “ ” the word , it is given as its second meaning in most

fo r dictionaries , which give its first meaning an engraving in [ 1 1 ]

C A$ EO POR T R AT UR E

IN A$ ER IC .

C A h lEO is an ngr a ving

u o n cut in relief stone ,

shell , glass , or ther hard substance having tW( or more

o f 0 layers color , and treated as to utilize the effet O f the

O f variety coloring . Although this is the common usage o f “ ” the word cameo , i is given as its second m e anirr in most

re dictionaries , which g for its

first meaning an e nraving in [ 1 1 ] C A M E O P O R T R A I T U R E relief as distinguished from an

O f intaglio . The derivation the “ word cameo has no t been traced . Cameos are usually cut in

agates , sardonyx being the best adapted to the purpose , or in certain tropical shells hav ing two layers O f color These shells are found at the Isle of

Bourbon , near Madagascar , at

C O f eylon , and at some the

West Indies . On account Of the fact that those shells from Ceylon were shipped to E urope via C alcutta , the shells used for cameos are Often called

Calcutta shells . E19 J

C A M E O P O R T R A I T U R E

A . D ing the fourth century . , and although occasionally prae

ticed was no t revived upon a large scale until the fifteenth

century . Then it came into vogue in Italy and spread to

France , where for a time it was

extensively cultivated . At pres

ent very little cameo - cutting is done outside Of Italy My interest in portrait cameos was first aroused by a gift from my aun t Of shell - cameo portraits

O f my grandfather and grand mother .

My historical point of V iew naturally led me to study the t anti$ uity Of cameo portrai ure . I 14 J CAMEO PORTRAIT O F H J . B. C A N DR . PI

Cut by Annable about 1 850 . C A M E O P O R T R A I T U R E

C o u ameos , y doubtless real ize , are generally cut in alle

o ric al g or ornamental designs , but cameo portraiture has been occasionally practiced . The earliest extant cameo portrait is that Of Ptolemy II

' and his first wife , Arsino e. It dates from between 285 an d

279 B . C . , having been cut in a three - layer block Of sardonyx six and a $ uarter inches long by five inches wide . This

cameo , usually known as the “ C ’ 9 Gonzaga ameo , is now pre served at the Hermitage in

Petrograd .

A slightly smaller nine - layer [ 16 ] I N A M E R I C A

sardonyx cameo portrait O f

Ptolemy II and his second wife , e' also named Arsino , is preserved

in V ienna .

Cameo portraits O f D emet rius Sotor and his wife Lao

dice , Of , Of , and

Of are extant , the latter being by the artist Epi

tync h am us A later cameo por trait is considered to bear the

likeness O f Marcus Aurelius F ’ and austina . Constantine s

portrait was also cut in cameo , but after his time the art de

l n c i e d .

Cameo portraiture was r e vive d in the Renaissance . [ 17 ] C A M E O P O R T R A I T U R E

Likenesses Of Francis I and his C V $ ueen , of harles , Of Philip II ,

O f Jerome Savonarola , and Of

R én King é were cut in cameo . A cameo portrait Of Alexander

de Medici was cut in plasma . The most noted cameo artist

O f the later Renaissance was a “ ” C o ld o r e Frenchman , called , who cut in cameos the portraits o f IV $ III Henry , Louis , and

$ ueen E lizabeth .

Turning now t o American

cameo portraiture , I naturally began with those in my own possession and found that th e v

were cut by a local sculptor ,

O f George 0 . Annable , Provi [ 18 ] CAMEO PORTRAIT O F L L JAMES S . INCO N

Ou t by A nuable . C A M E O P O R T R A I T U R E

dence . He had studied draw

ing under my grandmother , and

later , having chosen

as his field , cut her likeness in cameo as a mark O f his appre c iatio n Of her instruction and assistance . He also cut a por

trait O f my grandfather . The difference in the execution O f the two cameos is striking ; that Of my grandmother shows the spirit Of the artist at his

best , executing an appreciation , t t while the o her , hough done gratuitously as a companion piece , clearly approaches in spirit the plane Of a commerci al

commission . 90 J

C A M E O P O R T R A I T U R E

O . s o n George Annable , the

Of Jeremiah and Mary B . Anna 1 829 ble , was born about He had a studio in the Hoppin

building in Providence , and in 1 850 cut a cameo portrait Of

D r . C Nathan B . rocker , the

’

. C rector Of St John s hurch . The following account from the Providence J ou r nal O f Janu 1 8 1 85 1 ary , , gives us an idea

’ of A nnab le s work and a mbi tion . “ Annable is dreaming Of

Italy and languishing fo r the commissions which would put him in possession Of the means t o go there to study . Mean [ 99 ] I N A M E R I C A

while he is not idle , but is giv ing renewed demonstration O f his genius for art b v some highly successful specimens Of

- cameo cutting . The last and best we have seen is a spirited copy Of the truly clerical head

’ Of the Rector o f St . John s

a most excellent likeness .

The sharpness Of outline , and smoothness and delicacy Of fin

ish , Of this little work , are really

admirable . At the exhibition held in 1 85 1 by the Rhode Is land Society for the Enc o ur age m e nt Of D omestic Industry

George O . Annable received the “ 10 highest prize , $ , for medal [ 23 ] C A M E O P O R T R A I T U R E

lions and cameos , likenesses ,

very truthful , and also exhibit ing a very commendable prog ” ress in the art . In the printed report Of that Society we find the following reference to this artist

“ ’ With respect t o the medal

lion heads and cameos by Mr .

O f George O . Annable Provi dence the committee heartily concur in the general expres

sion O f opinion . They are ex c e lle nt ; and considering the youth O f the artist and the short time which has passed since his first work was pro ” d uc e d remarkably so . I 94 J CAMEO PORTRAIT O F H ORACE $ REEL EY

Cut by J ohn C . K ing . C A M E O P O R T R A I T U R E

In 1 853 cameos were ex h ib it e d by Annable and were described as “ capital like ” nesses and finely executed . e He r ceived a silver medal ,

o r the highest premium , for p trait busts in marble and cameos .

o f D Beside the portraits r .

C . C D r . hapin , Mrs hapin , and C rocker , Annable cut a cameo

o f . likeness James S Lincoln ,

the portrait painter , who in

’ exchange painted A nnab le s portrait . This cameo portrait of Lincoln is in the possession

o f . . Mrs Joseph T . A Eddy o f

’ A nna l s Hingh am . b e cameo E26 J I N A M E R I C A

portraits were cut in shell and were usually about an inch and

a half tall .

Annable married lVIiss Jane

M . Tripp in Providence o n 2 1 863 June , , and died in

Y . 22 1 7 . 8 8 . Brooklyn , N , April , He was buried in the North Burial Ground in Providence o n the 26th . Extending my study from

Providence to Boston , I found seven cameo portraits in the

Museum o f Fine Arts . Four of these were cut by William Morris Hunt and are mounted in a bracelet . They are like

o f nesses the four Hunt brothers , E27 J C A M E O P O R T R A I T U R E

R ichard , Jonathan , Leavitt , and

William Morris .

William Morris Hunt , the

so n o f . the Hon Jonathan Hunt ,

t V e r was born a Brattleboro , 1 824 mont , in . He studied at D Harvard , at usseldorf , and C later under outure , at , where he became the friend o f

Millet . He returned to Amer ica in 1 855 and resided for a w hile at Newport , after which 1 he settled in Boston . In 875 he published his “ Talks on

1 879 . Al Art , and died in though not exactly a Rhode

Islander , he resided for a time

tw o at Newport , and daughters

[ 9- 8 ]

C A M E O P O R T R A I T U R E

married into a prominent Rhode

o ne Island family , becoming the

o f wife Samuel Slater , while her sister became the wife o f

’ Samuel Slater s father , Horatio

Nelson Slater , Jr .

The Museum O f Fine Arts also possesses t w o cameo p o r

traits by John C . King . One is o f Horace Greeley and the

other o f Ben$amin Franklin . About 1 844 King cut a cameo portrait o f the naturalist Audu

o f bon . The following account this cameo appears in an ar

tiele by C . Hart Merriam in

A uk O 1 908 : the for ctober , “ My father and h Ir . King were E30 J I N A M E R I C A

o n o ne great friends , and occa

' sion , when father dropped into

’ l\Ir . King s studio , he found

Mr . Audubon sitting for the

cameo . Mr . King introduced the two gentlemen and asked t t i hem to star a conversat on , which was continued during the

t w o sitting . The men became so animated in their interest ing conversation that they fo r

e an d got where th y were , thus the artist was enabled to catch the natural and striking expres ” sion of the great ornithologist .

A photograph o f a cast made from this cameo was presented

by King t o Mr . O . Atkins Far L 31 J C A M E O P O R T R A I T U R E

D 1 871 well of etroit in , and a cast of another cameo of Audu bon , made by King between 1 840 1 845 and , was given by the sculptor to Mr . Frederic

H . Kennard of Boston . The original cameos which were cut in shell were not located by

Mr Merriam . A medallion from the Farwell photograph is reproduced o n the cover of Francis Hobart Herrick ’ s “ Au ” dubon the Naturalist . John Crookshanks King was born at Kilwinning , Ayrshire ,

O 1 1 1 806 . Scotland , ctober , He attended school until about

fifteen years o ld and then b e [ 32 ] CAMEO PORTRAIT O F

JOH N J . AUD UBON

Cut by K ing .

F rom th e K ennard c ast C A M E O P O R T R A I T U R E

’ a came a machinist s pprentice , although devoting his spare

hours to drawing and painting .

t o 1 829 He came America in , 1 832 and in met Hiram Powers , through whose influence he took 1 840 up sculpture . In he set tle d O in New rleans , where he made marble busts and cut portrait cameos . He soon moved to Boston , where he had a studio and continued his

work until his death , in April 1 882 , and was buried at Mount

Auburn . He was unusually

f . fond o animals , especially birds The other cameo portrait in the t se um o f Fine Arts is o f [ 34 ] CAMEO PORTRAIT O F JOH N H UTTON

Cut by S aint - $ a udens . C A M E O P O R T R A I T U R E

the Hon . George Morey . It is considered to be American

um work , but its sculptor is known .

The public collections O f New

York and Philadelphia. proved

barren to my search . B ut in Maitland Armstrong ’ s recollections o f Saint - Gaudens

I found the follo w ing account o f his cameo work : “ Saint—Gaudens Often told me Of the trials he had suffered

i t o - as apprent ce a cameo cutter ,

a Frenchman , who spent his holidays an d Sundays in shoot

V ing snipe o n the V e e h a w k e n F lats . The yo ung craftsman [ 36 ]

C A M E O P O R T R A I T U R E was compelled to walk all day lugging his master ’ s game bag and running after the snipe he

shot . Never would he admit ,

even in confidence , that the

o ne bag was a heavy , so loath was he to give ‘ that fellow ’ credit for anything ; but there is no t much hazard in the guess that snipe were then in a more flourishing condition on the

‘ ’ t o - Flats than is the case day , and that the sport was pretty

good for the master . “ C ameo - cutting was soon

no t abandoned , but before

Saint - Gaudens had become ve rv ” skillful at the trade . E38 J I N A M E R I C A

Still more pertinent to our

$ uest is the account in Isa bel Moore ’ s “ Talks in a Li ” b rar y with Laurence Hutton , “ wherein Hutton said : That eight dollars the first money I ever made for myself — was

invested in a sentimental way ,

in the gold setting , as a finger

o f - ring , a small , shell cameo

r o tr ait o f profile p the father , cut by a boy of about my own

age , with whom then I had but slight ac$ uaintance , but

who , in later years , has become my very good friend . His name

- is Augustus Saint Gaudens . V ery many years later a shell [ 39 ] C A M E O P O R T R A I T U R E

cameo brooch , in what is called

- a shadow frame , had its place in the Thirty - fourth Street

house , upon the piano in the dining - room ; and one night at a dinner party , at which were gathered many distinguished men and women to meet Sir

Henry Irving , the box and its contents attracted the atten tion o f a guest who happened t o sit opposite to it . In the middle of the symposium he

$umped up , grasped the ob$ect

‘ : in both hands , and said Lau

rence , where did you get this , and who is it $ ’

“ ‘ ’ It s my father , given by [ 40 ] CAME O PORTRAIT OF H Y ON . $ EOR$ E MORE

A tist unknown ut said to h ave een an A m e ican r , b b r C A M E O P O R T R A I T U R E

him to my mother on the

twenty - fifth anniversary O f

their marriage . She wore it a

t c o n little while , but i was too

spic uo us as a personal orna

ment ; and after his death sh e

’ put it in that frame . The excited guest exclaimed “ ‘ Your father $ ’

“ ‘ ’

Ye s . , my father He then asked in great excitement who did it .

“ ‘ ’ I replied : I don t know . It was cut long ago by a little

artist in a studio over Br o ug

’ VV al ham s Lyceum , afterwards

’ lack s Theatre , on the corner o f Broadway and Broome [ 49 ] I N A M E R I C A

Street . Who he was or what

his name was , I do not know , except that he was a clever

’ little Frenchman .

The attention o f the whole party was by this time at tracted to the dialogue . Look

ing at the cameo in its case ,

and his hand shaking a little , the guest said ‘ He was a clever little

Frenchman , was he , and you ’ $ don t know his name Well , I ’ m the clever little French

man , and my name is Saint

’ Gaudens . It s the earliest piece of my work extant , and when you and Mrs . Hutton get [ 43 ] C A M E O P O R T R A I T U R E

through with it , I want it for

’ Gussie and the b oy . “ And when we do get through ” with it they are to have it .

At the suggestion o f Mr .

Bolton , I wrote to Mr . Law

rence Park of Boston , in the hope that he might know of

- some portrait cameos , and he surpassed o ur expectations in being himself the possessor o f a portrait - cameo by Margaret

Foley . This cameo is the like

o f R . E ness ev phraim Abbott ,

- a great uncle o f Mr . Park . Biographers differ as to where

Margaret Foley , or Margaret

E . Foley , as she is sometimes [ 44 ]

C A M E O P O R T R A I T U R E

h Iar liam and y Howitt , of

o f Longfellow , and William C ullen Bryant , and her ideal C E statues of leopatra , of xcel

o f c o n si sior , and Jeremiah are d ered to be the best spec imens Of her cameo work . She died in 1 877 at the home of Mr . and Mrs . Howitt , at

Menan in the Austrian Tyrol .

[ 46 ]