A lady by Mrs. Moses B. Russell, circa 1850. Set in the original brown leather hinged case with satin lining. 3 1/8 inches high. Mrs. Moses B. Russell (1809-1854), an artist of captivating talent, was described by Dale Johnson as "a highly productive and accomplished miniaturist who has been unduly neglected because of misattribution. Her paintings...are quite distinctive: charming, somewhat naive likeness of their subjects." Born Clarissa Peters in Andover, Massachusetts, she worked as a miniature painter in Boston from 1836 to 1854, exhibiting at the Boston Atheneum, the Boston Art | Read More...

A lady by Mrs. Moses B. Russell, circa 1850. Set in the original brown leather hinged case with satin lining. 3 1/8 inches high. Mrs. Moses B. Russell (1809-1854), an artist of captivating talent, was described by Dale Johnson as "a highly productive and accomplished miniaturist who has been unduly neglected because of misattribution. Her paintings...are quite distinctive: charming, somewhat naive likeness of their subjects." Born Clarissa Peters in Andover, Massachusetts, she worked as a miniature painter in Boston from 1836 to 1854, exhibiting at the Boston Atheneum, the Boston Art Association and the Boston Mechanics Association. In 1839 she married miniaturist Moses B. Russell. From then on they worked jointly, and their works are often mistaken for one another. Additionally, it is probable that he signed many works painted mostly by her. Her fame also suffered from years of misattribution to Joseph Whiting Stock, a problem only recently solved. But, in her lifetime, she was so highly regarded that upon her death in 1854, the Boston Semi-Weekly Atlas and several other Boston newspapers printed front-page obituaries for her. Mrs. Russell's delightful miniatures are now among the most sought after in America. | Close