James Peale was instructed in the delicate art of watercolor-on-ivory miniature painting by his brother Charles Willson Peale, who mastered it while studying in London. Creating elegant yet realistic likenesses, James became a highly regarded miniaturist in Philadelphia between 1790 and 1810.

Their translucent ivory ground imparts a luminous quality to these small, decorative pictures, which were intended for personal exchange and often worn as jewelry or hidden within clothing.

Ann Ross’s portrait, painted in the year of her marriage, may have celebrated that event. Inherited by her daughter, Anna Maria, who was orphaned as a young child, it also likely became a precious memento of her lovely, stylish mother.