ROCKBRIDGE CO., SHENANDOAH VALLEY OF VIRGINIA, FOLK ART MINIATURE PORTRAIT OF A MAN, watercolor, bust-length depiction of an auburn-haired figure wearing black tie and high white stock, signed "JONES" lower right over shoulder, period ink inscription, likely in the artist's hand, on backing paper verso "J. S. Leech aged 36 / Painted by C Jones / March 1842". Housed under glass in a period, possibly original, mahogany veneered frame. Dated 1842. 2 1/2" x 2 1/4" sight, 5 7/8" x 5 3/8" OA.
Provenance: From a Shenandoah Valley private collection.
Purchased at a Rockbridge Co., VA estate auction.
Catalogue Note: The sitter of the present portrait, John Steel Leech (1806-1871), married Druella Finley December 19, 1827 in Rockbridge Co., Virginia. In the 1850 US Census, the Leech household enumeration included three children and 13 enslaved people. By the 1870 Census, John Leech's real estate holdings had grown to $15,000 in overall value. He is buried at the Oxford Presbyterian Cemetery in Collierstown, Virginia.
We have been unable to uncover any information on the artist of the present miniature, "C. Jones". Research is ongoing.

Very good overall condition with minor areas of discoloration. Frame with minor wear.