An Art Student of Paris (1899): Art, History and Details

An Art Student of Paris (1899) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Martha S. Baker (American, 1871–1911).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The sitter’s identity is unknown, but she was likely a student of Martha Baker, who was living and teaching in Paris in 1899. Demand for Baker’s portrait miniatures was so great that she resigned from teaching to keep up with commissions. The artist’s obituary in the New York Times stated that she was “the world’s foremost miniature painter.” In this example, the sitter’s shoulders seem to fade into the pale background, emphasizing the similarity between her skin and the material upon which her likeness is painted.

Object facts

• Title: An Art Student of Paris
• Date: 1899
• Creator attribution: Martha S. Baker (American, 1871–1911)
• Culture: America
• Type: Portrait Miniature
• Technique: watercolor on ivorine
• Dimensions: Framed: 5.2 x 4.6 cm (2 1/16 x 1 13/16 in.); Unframed: 4.9 x 4.1 cm (1 15/16 x 1 5/8 in.)
• Collection: American - Painting
• Department: American Painting and Sculpture
• Accession number: 1915.141

A detail from the museum

While portrait miniatures were usually executed on ivory, this example is painted on “ivorine,” an early plastic.

Collection credit

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Baker

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.