Three Children in a Park

English School, 18thC

Summary

Group of three children, consisting of young boy, an older girl, and a very young girl, in a park setting. The boy stands to the right with the two girls, one of whom is in a wheel chair, with the older girl standing behind her. The boy appears to be pulling her wheel chair along the grass with a piece of string which is attached to the front of the chair. There are trees in the background. The clothes are rich in colour with the young boy, for example, wearing a blue velvet two-piece suit with a red waistcoat.

Display Label

Three Children in a Park about 1750 Unknown English Artist Oil on canvas The animated posture of the boy is stilted, but childish; it reflects the changing idea of children in the 18th century. They were increasingly seen as impressionable and playful, and no longer as miniature, inferior adults. Although the children play freely out-of-doors, gender roles are being established as the boy leads, and the girl steadies the wheeled chair in which the smallest child sits. Purchased 1950.296