Edward Greene Malbone’s premature death at age twenty-nine cut short the brilliant career of a painter considered to be America’s most accomplished miniaturist. Primarily self-taught, his talent, charm, and artistic skill contributed to his rapid success as an itinerant artist. In 1796, Malbone recorded several posthumous portrait miniatures of Thomas Russell, such as this one, for family members who wished to preserve the sitter’s memory. Russell died almost three months before Malbone arrived in Boston; therefore, the miniaturist copied Russell’s likeness from an earlier oil painting by John Trumbull. The reverse of the portrait’s original housing features a blue glass oval and a piece of convex glass, with an inset containing a lock of the sitter’s hair.

The Boston-born Russell, owner of an extensive shipping and marine insurance business, made a fortune speculating in Continental money. He married three times and had seven children, including a daughter, Sarah (1948.259), whom Malbone also painted. In 1801 Malbone traveled to London, where he was influenced by the airy and elegant style of miniaturist Richard Cosway. Later that year he returned to Charleston, South Carolina, and began his most prolific period, traveling between Newport, Rhode Island, and Boston; Providence, Rhode Island; New York; Philadelphia; and Charleston. Malbone died of tuberculosis in May 1807.