A Portrait of Two Children

Maker Sturtevant J. Hamblin (American, 1817 - 1884)

Collections

Jonathan and Karin Fielding Collection

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Dateca. 1845 - 1850

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensionsframe: 39 1/2 x 32 1/2 x 1 1/2 in. (100.3 x 82.6 x 3.8 cm.)

DescriptionDouble portrait of a girl and the younger boy; the girl holds a sprig of flowers, the boy a riding crop and the string to a toy wagon; against a brown background framed by a red curtain

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gift of Jonathan and Karin Fielding

Label TextThis boldly executed portrait of two well-dressed children from a prosperous Massachusetts family presents them in typical mid-19th-century sartorial fashion: the girl in a flounced dress with wide off-the-shoulder neckline and distinctive tasseled sleeves and short leglets tied at the knees, the boy in a belted embroidered tunic and trousers. Sturtevant Hamblin came from a family of artisans that included his grandfather, father, and three brothers. Most of them advertised as house, sign, and fancy painters, and Sturtevant, who considered himself a portrait painter, probably earned part of his living in this manner. Originally from Portland, Maine, the Hamblins moved to Boston in 1840.

Status

On view

Object number2016.25.108