Making a Train
Seymour Joseph Guy, American (born England), 1824 - 1910
Geography:
Made in United States, North and Central America
Date:
1867Medium:
Oil on canvasDimensions:
18 1/8 x 24 1/8 inches (46 x 61.3 cm)Curatorial Department:
American Art
E1924-4-14Credit Line:
The George W. Elkins Collection, 1924
Made in United States, North and Central America
Date:
1867Medium:
Oil on canvasDimensions:
18 1/8 x 24 1/8 inches (46 x 61.3 cm)Curatorial Department:
American Art
* Gallery 116, American Art, first floor (McCausland Gallery)
Accession Number:E1924-4-14Credit Line:
The George W. Elkins Collection, 1924
Social Tags [?]
adolescence [x] attics [x] bedrooms [x] beds [x] chair [x] chairs [x] dresses [x] garrets [x] girls [x] make-believe [x] nhd 1861 to 1877 culture [x] nhd 1861 to 1877 political [x] nightgown [x] play-acting [x] playing [x] puberty [x] quilt [x] quilts [x] red [x] role-playing [x] semi-nudes [x] striped wallpaper [x] wallpaper [x]Alone in an attic, a little girl dreams of turning her everyday clothing into something grown-up and magnificent—perhaps a ball gown or wedding dress. Seymour Guy's daughter Anna was likely the model for this painting. The warm, soft glow of an oil lamp evokes the innocence of her childhood. At the same time, shadows fall across her torso to hint at her imminent transformation into a young woman, and a doll lies abandoned in the cabinet to her right to suggest that soon such playthings will be forgotten. After the Civil War (1861-65), nostalgic visions of childhood like this one gained enormous popularity.
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