Figure 1.--Figure 1.-- Calvin Balis (1817/18–63) was an American folk artist and itinerant portrait painter. He was active in update New York, primarily in the 1850s. Younger boys like girls might wear dresses. This confuses somed modern art historians who seem to think that children wearing dresses are girls. A good example is an unidentified child in a blue dress and ringlets riding a hobby horse. We believe the child is more likely a boy. /i>

Calvin Balis (1817/18–63) was an American folk artist and itinerant portrait painter. He was active in update New York, primarily in the 1850s. Younger boys like girls might wear dresses. This confuses somed modern art historians who seem to think that children wearing dresses are girls. A good example is an unidentified child in a blue dress and ringlets riding a hobby horse. We believe the child is more likely a boy. It is not because the dress is blue. Modern color conventions were not yet established in the 19th century. But it was very common for younger pre-school boys to wear desses. Thedress has a low neckline, common for younger cjildren, both boys and girls. There is frilly trim at the neckline and sleeves. There is embridered decoration om the sleeves and skirt bottom. Dresses are not a good indicator of gender for this age group. Folk artists are very good at depicting clothing, but not the age of children, but the child was proably about 3-4 vears old. The same is true of ringlet curls. Both girls and younger boys might have tinglet curls. In this case the ringlts were done with double parts. This is a style we see for many boys, but less commonly for girls. It was primarily for pre-school boys, but some older boys also had this hair style. This all means that the child could have been either a boy or a girl. What tips the case for the child being a boy is a hobby horse. The photographic record very strongly suggests that hobby horses were primarily, but not exclusively for boys.

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Created: 1:04 AM 1/6/2026
Last updated: 1:04 AM 1/6/2026