Girl with a Parrot

Maker Allan Ramsay II (British, 1713-1784)

Collections

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Date1744

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensionscanvas: 38 x 48 1/2 in. (96.5 x 123.2 cm.) frame: 47 × 57 1/2 × 3 in. (119.4 × 146.1 × 7.6 cm.)

SignedSigned and dated: 1744

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Purchased with funds from the Frances Crandall Dyke Bequest

Label TextThis young girl’s outstretched arm and delicately upturned hand would have been recognized by contemporary viewers as an indication that she is speaking. Her index finger points to a carefully detailed white-headed parrot, an animal valued for its intelligence, talkativeness, and obedience. Both the tamed parrot and the cultivated roses that bloom near the girl’s left elbow represent parts of wild nature that the girl has presumably trained—a flattering allusion to her patience and nurturing skills.

Status

On view

Object number99.21