One of the Adams Children

Unidentified, One of the Adams Children, ca. 1820, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Adams-Clement Collection, gift of Mary Louisa Adams Clement in memory of her mother, Louisa Catherine Adams Clement, 1950.6.9
Copied Unidentified, One of the Adams Children, ca. 1820, oil on canvas, 30 3⁄8 x 25 1⁄4 in. (77.0 x 64.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Adams-Clement Collection, gift of Mary Louisa Adams Clement in memory of her mother, Louisa Catherine Adams Clement, 1950.6.9
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Artwork Details

Title
One of the Adams Children
Artist
Unidentified
Date
ca. 1820
Location
Dimensions
30 3⁄8 x 25 1⁄4 in. (77.0 x 64.2 cm)
Credit Line
Adams-Clement Collection, gift of Mary Louisa Adams Clement in memory of her mother, Louisa Catherine Adams Clement
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Recreation
  • Landscape — water
  • Portrait female — Adams, Miss — child
  • Object — flower
Object Number
1950.6.9
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1950.6.9

Artwork Description

A little girl sits in an imaginary wooded setting with mountains off in the distance. The artist painted red flowers to match the red bows on her dress and in her hair. The flower from which she picks the petals that fall to the ground may have symbolized the child’s death, but it is unclear if this was created as a memorial portrait. (Fink, “Children as Innocence from Cole to Cassatt,” Nineteenth Century, Winter 1977)