A gentleman by Samuel Folwell, circa 1795.

This distinctive profile portrait is painted in ink and watercolor on paper.
 
Set in a pressed metal and wood frame.
 
3 3/4 inches high.
 
Samuel Folwell (c. 1765-1813) worked as a miniaturist, silhouettist, engraver, hairworker, needlework designer  and teacher.   Appearing in America in 1788, Folwell started as an itinerant, but by 1791 he had settled in Philadelphia where he remained for the rest of his life. Best known now for the silkwork faces he drew for his wife's school for girls, Folwell's unusual portraits exhibit all the same charm.