Mrs. Stiles and Grandchild

Samuel Bell Waugh, artist

1814–1885

Mrs. Stiles and Grandchild, 1843

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: oil; canvas

Dimensions:
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 88.9 x 68.6 cm
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 35 x 27 in

Credit line: Museum purchase

Accession number: 1961.0009

Not on display

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Label texts

Inventing Childhood

As children became the central focus of the 19th-century Western family, they were increasingly featured as the subjects of formal portraits, infusing the canvas with a playfulness and honesty that delighted many artists. The Laughing Girl in Henri’s portrait speaks to the realities of 19th-century America, and especially the artist’s journalistic desire to record the social injustices of modern city life. While other artists portrayed the offspring of well-to-do patrons, Henri’s subjects were often working-class children. The lack of this child’s name in the title may indicate his practice of dressing up street children with studio props such as this pearl necklace. Indeed, Henri was a member of the Ash Can School, a group of artists in the 19th century who were best known for depicting gritty scenes of everyday urbanism.
Samuel Waugh’s portrait, around the corner to the right, offers a realistic glimpse into the everyday life of another 19th-century American family. Although Mrs. Stiles attempts to heed her nearby Bible, her attention wanders to her grandchild who plays with a toy horse and cart, guiding the team with a whip.

Corpus - Project Redefine: Phase 2

Portraitist and panorama painter Samuel Waugh worked in Canada and studied in Italy before settling in Philadelphia in the 1840s. His portrait of Mrs. Stiles and her grandchild, like other pictures of daily life, reinforces the cultural values of his era. Although this grandmother clearly pays close attention to her bible, her attention to her grandchild is less focused. The infant plays with a toy horse and cart, guiding the team with a whip. That rod seems to have been spared on this happy and perhaps spoiled child, for another toy lies broken on the floor. The child’s appearance in a dress does not necessarily prove the child is female, for very young girls and boys were both clothed in dresses throughout the 19th century. The stereotypically masculine horse and cart may indicate toys belonging to a boy, and the reckless play that may have caused the destruction of the other toy suggests the mischievous behavior credited to boys during the period.

Exhibition Label:
"Corpus," Apr-2012, Kate Meyer
Portraitist and panorama painter Samuel Waugh worked in Canada and studied in Italy before settling in Philadelphia in the 1840s. His portrait of Mrs. Stiles and her grandchild, like other pictures of daily life, reinforces the cultural values of his era. Although this grandmother clearly pays close attention to her bible, her attention to her grandchild is less focused. The infant plays with a toy horse and cart, guiding the team with a whip. That rod seems to have been spared on this happy and perhaps spoiled child, for another toy lies broken on the floor. The child’s appearance in a dress does not necessarily prove the child is female, for very young girls and boys were both clothed in dresses throughout the 19th century. The stereotypically masculine horse and cart may indicate toys belonging to a boy, and the reckless play that may have caused the destruction of the other toy suggests the mischievous behavior credited to boys during the period.