Sleeping Children

William Henry Rinehart, Sleeping Children, modeled 1859, carved 1869, marble, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Benjamin H. Warder, 1920.4.1
Copied William Henry Rinehart, Sleeping Children, modeled 1859, carved 1869, marble, 15 3⁄8 x 36 3⁄4 x 18 3⁄4 in. (38.9 x 93.3 x 47.6 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Benjamin H. Warder, 1920.4.1
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Sleeping Children
Artist
Date
modeled 1859, carved 1869
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
15 3⁄8 x 36 3⁄4 x 18 3⁄4 in. (38.9 x 93.3 x 47.6 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Benjamin H. Warder
Mediums
Mediums Description
marble
Classifications
Subjects
  • State of being — other — sleep
  • Children
Object Number
1920.4.1
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1920.4.1

Artwork Description

William Henry Rinehart's marble sculpture of two sleeping children beautifully captures a peaceful moment in time. An anonymous visitor to the artist's studio at the time reported that Rinehart sculpted the children from life as they napped, allowing him to render their ringlets and chubby hands in exquisite detail. Nineteenth-century artists used sleeping figures to evoke death, and images like this often served as grave markers. An early replica of Sleeping Children can be found in Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore, on the family plot of the artist's patron and friend, Hugh Sisson.