Artwork
Child with Christmas Card
Child with Christmas Card is an unspecified painting by the American Impressionist artist Alden Finney Brooks. It dates from 1894 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
This inclusion serves as the primary symbolic element, anchoring the scene in the context of late 19th-century holiday traditions.
Alden Finney Brooks's 1886 painting, Child with Christmas Card, depicts a young girl as its sole subject. The work's title and iconography center on the specific object held by the child: a Christmas card. This inclusion serves as the primary symbolic element, anchoring the scene in the context of late 19th-century holiday traditions.
By focusing on a child interacting with seasonal correspondence, the artwork represents a domestic moment of festive anticipation and the cultural significance of holiday greetings during this period.
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting on canvas, measuring 22.9 cm in height by 16.8 cm in width, and is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Executed in 1886, the piece depicts a young girl and exemplifies Brooks' early realist approach, characterized by precise brushwork and muted tonal modeling. The composition emphasizes intimate domestic sentiment through the inclusion of a Christmas card, rendered with delicate attention to texture and light.
History & Provenance
Child with Christmas Card is a painting by Alden Finney Brooks dated 1886. The work is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains part of the institution's holdings. The sources do not provide information about a commission, prior ownership, chain of custody, or circumstances of its creation beyond the 1886 date and its current location at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Alden Finney Brooks's 1886 painting Child with Christmas Card is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work depicts a girl and measures 22.9 cm in height by 16.8 cm in width. While the painting is confirmed to be part of the museum's holdings, the provided sources do not list a specific inventory or accession number, nor do they detail any exhibition history for the piece.
Context
Child with Christmas Card (1886) by Alden Finney Brooks was painted during the late 19th century in the United States, situating it within the broader context of American genre painting. The work, held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, portrays a young girl holding a Christmas card, reflecting contemporary holiday traditions. Scholars have noted its delicate realism and emotional resonance, though comprehensive critical analysis remains limited in published literature.
The painting’s composition and subject matter align with Finney Brooks’ broader exploration of intimate domestic scenes, contributing to discussions on overlooked female artists in 19th-century American art. Its presence in a major institutional collection underscores its significance within institutional narratives of American art history.
Overview
Alden Finney Brooks completed the oil painting Child with Christmas Card in 1894. The work portrays a young girl inside a domestic setting, holding a holiday greeting. Currently, the piece belongs to the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
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