Figure 1.-- This child here we are unsure about. He looks like a boy and the top he is hold seems to conform this. Active toys were more likely to be for boys. We do not know precisely when this portrait was painted. We would guess the 1840s. The outfit is very interesting. I think he is wearing a dress, notice the low neckline of the black garment. I am not sure what the tan jacket-like garment with the ruffled collar would be called.

Note the similarity in style here to the style of the painting of the boy in the suit, suggesting tha both were painted by the same artist. This child here we are unsure about. He looks like a boy. He might even be the same boy painted at a younger age. Fletcher is known to have painted neighbors and relatives in his early years. The top the boy here is holding seems to conform this. Active toys were more likely to be for boys. We do not know precisely when this portrait was painted. We would guess the 1840s. The outfit is very interesting. I think he is wearing a dress, notice the low neckline of the black garment. I am not sure what the tan jacket-like garment with the ruffled collar would be called. It seems to serve the purpose of a smock, except the areas of the clothing that a child is most likely to soil is not covered. Also the garment is rather styling, unlike a utilitarian smock. Perhaps HBC readers will lnow what to call it.

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Created: 7:07 AM 8/31/2004
Last updated: 7:07 AM 8/31/2004