Children Playing in a Park

c. 1860

Hugues Merle

Associated Names
Hugues Merle

Painter, French, 1823 - 1881

This is a painting of a group of children holding hands and playing in a grassy area. The children form a line, with one crossing under the connected arms of two others. The children wear expressions of joy, with wide eyes and open, upturned mouths. Three of the children wear dresses in pastel pink, green, and blue, while the other three wear jackets and trousers. The background is a lush green landscape, and dappled light is cast on the scene from above.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 32.6 x 40.9 cm (12 13/16 x 16 1/8 in.)
    framed: 45.4 x 53.7 x 5.7 cm (17 7/8 x 21 1/8 x 2 1/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1970.17.101

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Harry MacNeill Bland Galleries, New York);[1] sold to Ailsa Mellon Bruce [1901-1969], New York; bequest 1970 to NGA.
[1]The correspondence of the Bland Galleries, at the Archives of American Art, does not include any references to this picture.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1989

  • Extended loan for use by Secretary Samuel Skinner, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., 1989-1992.

1992

  • Extended loan for use by Secretary Andrew H. Card, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., 1992-1993.

1993

  • Extended loan for use by Secretary Federico Pena, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., 1993-1998.

1998

  • Extended loan for use by Secretary Rodney Slater, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., 1998-2001.

Bibliography

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 232, repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 267, repro.

2000

  • Eitner, Lorenz. French Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I: Before Impressionism. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2000: 312, color repro.

Inscriptions

lower left in monogram: HM

Wikidata ID

Q20188416

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