Child Holding a Doll
1780
Medium
Watercolor, pastel over graphite
Dimensions
Sheet: 9 in. × 7 7/16 in. (22.9 × 18.9 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Anne D. Thompson, 1923
Accession Number
23.280.10
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late 18th century, artist John Downman captured the innocence of childhood in *Child Holding a Doll* (1780). This portrait depicts a young girl cradling her doll, a poignant symbol of play and emerging domesticity during the Georgian era. Downman, renowned for his delicate portraits of women and children, in a style blending Rococo elegance with emerging Romantic sensibility, emphasizing soft expressions and everyday moments that humanized his aristocratic sitters. Crafted on a modest sheet of 9 × 7 7/16 inches, the artwork employs watercolor and pastel layered over a graphite underdra...
About the Artist
John Downman · 1750–1824
John Downman (1750–1824) was born in Ruabon, near Wrexham, in North Wales. His artistic inclinations proved stronger than any legal ambitions his family held for him, and he began his formal training in Liverpool before enrolling in 1769 among the first intake of students at the newly established Royal Academy Schools in London. There he studied under Benjamin West. In 1773, Downman deepened his e...