Easter Greetings
ca. 1895
Medium
Drawing
Classification
Drawing
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Walter Shirlaw
Accession Number
1913.11.4
Tags
Art Historical Context
Walter Shirlaw’s “Easter Greetings,” created around 1895, captures a tender moment between a woman and child in a drawing that celebrates the renewal and joy associated with the Easter season. As a work on paper, the medium allows for intimate detail and spontaneity, inviting viewers to appreciate the artist’s delicate handling of line and form. The scene likely reflects the sentimental domestic themes popular in late-nineteenth-century America, when holidays served as occasions to affirm family bonds and spiritual hope. Donated to the Smithsonian American Art Museum by the artist’s widow, th...
About the Artist
Walter Shirlaw · 1838–1909
Walter Shirlaw (1838–1909) was a Scottish-born American painter and illustrator whose career bridged the genteel tradition of academic figure painting and the emerging ambitions of American art in the Gilded Age. Born in Paisley, Scotland, Shirlaw emigrated to the United States as a child and received his early artistic training in America before traveling to Munich to study at the Royal Academy —...