Elizabeth Lawrence (Mrs. William) Hartshorne

Periodca. 1785 - 1795

MediumWatercolor on ivory in gold, colorless glass

DimensionsImage: 1.38 × 1 in. (3.5 × 2.5 cm)

ClassificationsPortrait Miniatures & Silhouettes

Credit LineGift of Mary Minturn Adams in memory of her Hartshorne Ancestors, 2018

Object number2018.10.3

DescriptionA small oval miniature of Elizabeth Lawrence Hartshorne in watercolor on ivory. Elizabeth is depicted in a 3/4 view facing left. The sitter has pale blue eyes and brown eyebrows and wears her hair puffed and powdered with one short curl against the proper left side of her neck. Elizabeth wears a coral dress with a low rounded neck and puffed sleeve caps. Background is a muffled dark brown. The miniature rests inside a plain gold oval case beneath a glass bezel with a simple flat loop at the top of the frame.
Curatorial RemarksSarah's miniature was most likely painted at the time of her marriage to William Hartshorne (b. 1748) in 1797. An examination of the portrait seems to indicate that the small plain gold case in which the miniature resides is not the original. The Historical Association also owns a miniature portrait of Sarah's husband William Hartshorne (please see accession number 2018.10.2).NotesSarah Lawrence Hartshorne (1763 - 1816) appears to be in her mid to late thirties when she posed for her miniature portrait. Her hair is puffed, curled and powdered in what was known as the "hedgehog" hairstyle. This casually "disarranged" fashion was most popular during the very late 1780s and well into the 1790s. The glimpse of Sarah's dress, even in so small an image, provides interesting details. The gown, probably of silk, is a soft reddish pink, with draping and what appears to be lace trimmings in the shoulder area. Sarah was the first of six children and the eldest daughter of Quakers Richard Lawrence (d. 1815) and Alice Bunting. At the age of 34, Sarah married William Hartshorne (b. 1748) in Shrewsbury, Monmouth County, NJ. Their Quaker marriage certificate included the signatures of 55 witnesses. In his will of 1815, Sarah's father Richard appointed his son-in-law William Hartshorne as one of his estate executors. According to Quaker records, Sarah Lawrence Hartshorne died a year after her father, on 9 September 1816. Sarah's death is recorded in Shrewsbury Meeting records, noting "Sarah Hartshorne, a Minister, a Member of Shrewsbury Meeting, deceased in the 9th Month last, aged 52 years.)" It is not known whether William and Sarah had children; however, since both lockets descended within William's brother's family line, it is likely that there were no children within the marriage to inherit the portraits.

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