Four Children in a Courtyard

Currently not on view

Four Children in a Courtyard

1795

Jeremiah Paul, Jr. (American, 1766–1820)

Portraiture is the subject of this picture: as the boy attempts to strike a pose appropriate for posterity, the girl attentively records his likeness. Jeremiah Paul based this image on a print after a work by British artist Richard Morton Payne; the practice of using imported prints as models was common among American painters of the time. While Paul’s contemporaries noted his diverse undertakings and peripatetic lifestyle, they also praised his precocious talent. He produced portraits, genre scenes (realistic depictions of everyday life), and historical paintings like The Death of Julius Caesar and The Washington Family, as well as signs, phantasmagorias, stage scenery, and a nine-by-seven-foot Venus and Cupid.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Four Children in a Courtyard

Date:

1795

Artist:

Jeremiah Paul, Jr. (American, 1766–1820)

Medium:

Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

38 3/4 × 49 3/4 inches (98.4 × 126.4 cm) Frame: 43 × 54 1/2 inches (109.2 × 138.4 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

Gift of the McNeil Americana Collection, 2007

Accession Number:

2007-15-1

Geography:

Made in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America

We are always open to learning more about our collections and updating the website. Does this record contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? Contact us here.

Please note that this particular artwork might not be on view when you visit. Don’t worry—we have plenty of exhibitions for you to explore.

Currently not on view