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Boy with Blond Hair

ca. 1840–50
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774
The subject's costume helps date this portrait to about 1840 to 1850. The reductive design and remarkably pure color distinguish the work, which is a carefully composed balance of large areas of bold pigment and pattern. Although both male and female infants wore similar garb, the child's dark shoes and more masculine array of attributes indicate he is probably a boy. The patterning, composition, and untutored anatomical drawing are akin to those found in the works of Joseph Whiting Stock; however the thin, indecisive paint handling is uncharacteristic of his more sophisticated style. The artist may have worked in the vicinity of Springfield, Massachusetts, and hence was possibly influenced by Stock's work.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Boy with Blond Hair
  • Date: ca. 1840–50
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 34 1/2 x 29 1/2 in. (87.6 x 75 cm)
  • Credit Line: Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, 1973
  • Object Number: 1973.323.5
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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