I came across an interesting illustrated article today from JSTOR online, about the 18th century minaturist David Boudon. The article is: “A Most Perfect Resemblance at Moderate Prices: The Miniatures of David Boudon,”  by Nancy E. Richards, The Winterthur Portfolio, Vol. 9, pp 77-101, Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, 1974.  An excerpt from the article (which can be downloaded as a PDF for a fee) reads:

“Overshadowed by such well-known miniature portraitists as Elouis, Saint-Memin, Edward Malbone, and the Peales, David Boudon’s contribution to American miniature painting deserves reappraisal. His career serves as a good barometer of artistic practice in the 1790s and 1800s. His periodic migrations from place to place in search of commissions provide insight into the difficulties encountered by many of his contemporaries. Working in a little-used technique, Boudon was able to capture an accurate likeness without using a physiognotrace or pantograph. An excellent draftsman, his portraits are uncompromising; he does not try to glamorize or idealize his sitters. Working in a highly competitive field, Boudon’s patrons were members of the gentry–a segment of society frequently overlooked by artists in search of more prestigious clients. Boudon is not a major figure in the history of American miniature painting, but by providing an accurate record of middle and upper middle-class Americans at a reasonable price, Boudon anticipated the need for true likenesses that photography would satisfy later in the nineteenth century.”