The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of May 8, 2024
Portrait of Susan Coren Towers
1796
(American, 1749–1831)
Framed: 8 x 6.6 cm (3 1/8 x 2 5/8 in.); Unframed: 7.1 x 5.6 cm (2 13/16 x 2 3/16 in.)
The Edward B. Greene Collection 1942.1151
Location: not on view
Did You Know?
Online fans of the Broadway musical Hamilton have frequently misidentified this image as a portrait of Peggy Schuyler, Alexander Hamilton’s sister-in-law.Description
Susan Coren Towers was the daughter of a major in the Revolutionary War, and her husband was a successful woolen goods manufacturer. While little is known about Towers outside of her husband’s and father’s pursuits, Peale painted her with slightly asymmetrical clothing, bouncy curls, and a slight smirk, possible hints at her personality. While many portrait miniatures have compartments containing the sitter’s hair, this example holds hair from two individuals, likely Towers and a loved one.- Alexander Britton, Washington. (Copley Gallery, Boston, 1929). Edward B. Greene.
- Cleveland Museum of Art, and Edward Belden Greene. Portrait Miniatures ; The Edward B. Greene Collection. 1951. Mentioned: p. 38, cat. 89, p. 18; Reproduced: plate XLIII archive.org
- Disembodied: Portrait Minatures and their Contemporary Relatives. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 10, 2013-February 16, 2014).Intimate Images: Portrait Miniatures from Europe and America. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 26-October 17, 1993).
- {{cite web|title=Portrait of Susan Coren Towers|url=false|author=James Peale|year=1796|access-date=08 May 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1942.1151