A gentleman by James G. Sawkins,
signed and dated New Orleans, 1831.

An exceptionally rare artist, only a handful of miniatures by Sawkins are recorded.

Set in the original tri-color gilded copper frame with cast foliate border, the reverse with aperture containing a curl. The miniature is signed on the backing paper Painted by/J. G. Sawkins N. Orleans 1831.

3 1/16 inches high.

James Gay Sawkins (1805-1878), portrait painter, miniaturist and geologist, emigrated to Baltimore from Southampton, England in 1820 at the age of 15. His profession was already listed as "Limner." By 1829,Sawkins was traveling - St. Louis,Nashville, Cincinnati, New Orleans 1831-34. From 1835 to 1840 he was in Cuba and Mexico, returning to Baltimore in 1840. That year he exhibited at the National Academy of Design, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Artists' Fund Society. Back in Cuba and the Caribbean, 1840-1846, Sawkins would eventually write books for the British Government on the geology of Jamaica and British Guiana. By 1849, he was in San Francisco, then on to Hawaii for 3 years, then two in Australia. In 1855, Sawkins returned to Baltimore, married for the second time then returned to England. He died in Turnham Green. Several of Sawkins books on geology have remained in print, but his miniatures are exceedingly rare, with only five recorded.

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