Hi! I just wanted to say that I love your icon! That's my favorite portrait of Eliza. I think that her 1787 portrait doesn't really do her justice. Sharples' portrait is amazing. There's this gentleness yet playfulness in her gaze that I love. I love her soft smile. Idk, i can easily imagine Eliza looking at Ham like that while Sharples painted her.
Thanks! It’s my favorite portrait of her, too! I agree, she looks far more natural and comfortable in the Sharples portrait. Interestingly, when I was at Mount Vernon, I saw a portrait Sharples did of Martha Washington, and learned from their write-up that Sharples used something called a physiognotrace, which was a mechanical device that allowed him to make an exact copy his subject’s silhouette. He’d then fill in that exact outline as he painted. I suppose that’s why his paintings always feel so true to life!