The Raymond Children
Robert Peckham American
A Congregationalist deacon, Peckham became a prolific painter in central Massachusetts, catering to the demand for portraits among the rising middle class. A self-taught artist, he adopted a forthright visual approach in which he depicted many compositional details with equal emphasis. In this double portrait, siblings Anne Elizabeth and Joseph Estabrook Raymond are exquisitely dressed, standing on an in-grain carpet, and surrounded by toys in the parlor of their family’s well-appointed home. Peckham was also a noted abolitionist and painted portraits of fellow antislavery advocates, including the Quaker poet John Greenleaf.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.