Artwork
Boy and Girl
Boy and Girl is an oil painting. It dates from 1850 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. The oil painting depicts a boy and a girl positioned side by side within a simple interior.
About this work
Technique & Style
Boy and Girl is an oil painting executed on a canvas support. The work measures 107 cm in height and 81.3 cm in width. Classified as a genre scene, the piece reflects the stylistic characteristics of American art from the mid-19th century.
The medium consists of oil paint applied to the canvas, a standard technique for paintings of this period and classification.
History & Provenance
It was acquired by the museum in 1956 as a gift from Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, who had purchased the work in 1945.
Created in 1850, this oil on canvas painting originates from New York. The work entered the collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch in 1945. While a photograph in the Jean Lipman files at the Archives of American Art bears an inscription attributing the piece to Robert Laurent, suggesting the artist may have once owned it, this connection remains speculative.
The Garbisches subsequently donated the painting to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1956, where it remains part of the permanent collection.
The painting Boy and Girl is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It was acquired by the museum in 1956 as a gift from Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, who had purchased the work in 1945. Prior to its acquisition by the Garbisches, the piece was recorded as originating from New York. While the work is firmly attributed to an American artist of the 19th century, a photograph in the Jean Lipman files at the Archives of American Art bears an inscription suggesting a possible connection to Robert Laurent, who was known as an early collector of folk paintings.
Overview
The oil painting depicts a boy and a girl positioned side by side within a simple interior. The boy is dressed in a green jacket trimmed in black, with a white collar and gold‑button detailing; he holds a small red box in one hand and a hat in the other. The girl, seated, wears a blue dress edged with lace, clutching a single red rose and a white handkerchief. Both figures stare straight ahead with solemn expressions.
Subject & Meaning
The work presents the children in formal yet unadorned attire, suggesting a domestic portrait rather than a mythological or allegorical scene. The inclusion of modest objects, a red box, a hat, a rose, and a handkerchief, may allude to personal belongings or symbolic gestures of youth, modesty, and perhaps the passage of time, though no explicit narrative is provided.
Artist & collection
