Cameo of a Gentleman

Erastus Dow Palmer

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

During the early years of his career, Palmer is estimated to have produced over a hundred miniature cameos. These small low-relief portraits were cut in shell and were often duplicated in plaster by means of a wax mold. Twelve plaster casts (1983.519.1–.12), all of men, are mounted in an oval in a shadow box. Only three of the sitters have been identified: Mason Fitch Cogwsell (1807-1865), an Albany physician; John J. Francis (ca. 1810-1877) of Utica; and John Nichols Wilder (1813–1858), one of the founders of the University of Rochester. Three are the same portrait, although the identity of the sitter is unknown. The sculptor’s signature appears on two of the unidentified portraits. Studied together, these cameos reveal Palmer's special talent for rendering a gallery of Americans with a surprising variety of expression and character considering their intimate format.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art