Child of the Williams Family

Date1830-1835 (probably)

OriginAmerica, Massachusetts or New Jersey (probably)

MediumWatercolor, gouache, and pencil on wove paper

DimensionsPrimary support: 8 9/16 x 6 9/16in. (21.7 x 16.7cm) and Framed: 10 1/2 x 8 1/8in.

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1974.300.1

DescriptionA full-length portrait of a small standing child wearing an orange dress having short, puffed sleeves, a scalloped hemline, and coordating pantaloons. The child --- apparently a boy --- holds a claw hammer in his proper left hand, has very little hair, and wears red shoes. To the left of the child stands a turned-leg, upholstered footstool with tassels hanging from its tacking edge. The floor is covered or painted in a red, green, and blue repetititve geometric design.

Artist unidentified.

The 1-inch black-painted molded frame is a modern reproduction.
Label TextThis likeness and its companion (1974.300.2) were identified as depictions of a brother and sister of the Williams family when they were acquired in 1971, but toy hammers were associated with boys, not girls, and very young children of both sexes wore dresses in the 1830s. Thus, this child in an orange dress with matching pantaloons was almost certainly a boy, not "Mary Williams" as the Folk Art Museum's source believed. Notice the richly patterned floor in both portraits and the tasseled, upholstered footstool with turned legs in this one. Details such as these provide decorative arts historians with important information about how earlier Americans lived and furnished their homes.
MarkingsNone found
ProvenanceRaymond Dey, Wayne, N.J.