Little Girl with Slate
c. 1845
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 68.8 x 56 cm (27 1/16 x 22 1/16 in.) framed: 77.4 x 64.7 x 5.3 cm (30 1/2 x 25 1/2 x 2 1/16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CAB
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch
Accession Number
1953.5.66
Art Historical Context
"Little Girl with Slate," created around 1845 by an artist from the Prior-Hin School, captures the innocent charm of childhood in mid-19th-century America. This oil-on-canvas portrait depicts a young girl intently focused on her slate—a common child's writing tool of the era—her direct gaze and simple attire evoking the everyday life of rural or small-town families. Measuring about 27 x 22 inches, the painting exemplifies the folk art tradition, prized for its naive, heartfelt style rather than academic polish. The Prior-Hamblin School, centered in East Hampton, New York, produced distinctive...