Little Girl with Doll
ca. 1854
Medium
Painting-Miniature
Classification
Painting-Miniature
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund
Accession Number
1947.1.1
Tags
About this artwork
We do not know the identity of this young girl, who is around four or five years old. Her hair has been styled into ringlets, which was fashionable for ladies and children alike during the 1840s and 1850s.
Art Historical Context
This charming miniature painting by John Carlin captures a young girl of about four or five years old, her hair arranged in the fashionable ringlets popular among children and women in the 1840s and 1850s. Created around 1854, "Little Girl with Doll" portrays its subject in an intimate, tender moment, complete with a beloved toy that hints at the everyday joys of childhood. The identity of the sitter remains unknown, inviting viewers to connect with her as a representative figure of mid-nineteenth-century American life rather than a specific individual. Miniature paintings like this one held ...
About the Artist
John Carlin · 1813–1891
American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1813–1891 New York