From the collection of:
The Filson Historical Society || VAM Home

This painting shows Mary Anne Craig Hobbs (1820-1888) with her sons, Sydney Johnson (1840-after 1871) and Basil Hobbs (1843-1864). Mrs. Hobbs was the wife of Edward Dorsey Hobbs (1810-1888), who was city surveyor of Louisville in 1831, when he published a map of the city. An entrepreneur, he founded the Louisville Savings Institution in 1835 and, after a political career in the state legislature, became president of the Louisville and Frankfort Railroad in 1848. He married Mary Anne, daughter of John D. Craig of Georgetown, in 1839, after the death of his first wife in 1835. Sydney and Basil were the first of their six children. Sydney died in the Civil War, and Basil disappeared from family records after 1871. The Hobbs lived at Evergreen in Anchorage, Kentucky.

About the Artist

George Wilhelm (William) Frye was born in Reslayu, Germany, in 1812 and trained as an artist in Germany. He was active as an itinerant artist in Kentucky between 1845 and 1849 and in north Alabama, after 1849. Frye died in Huntsville, Alabama, in 1872.

Classroom Ideas

Discussion: Have these children been painted realistically, or do they look like small adults? What challenges might the artist have faced when painting children? Do the subjects look happy in this portrait? Why or why not? Compare this painting to Frye’s portrait of Henry Clay in the Kentucky Historical Society gallery.

Activity: Compare the portrayal of the children in this painting to Mary Cassatt’s L’Enfant in the Speed Art Museum collection of the Kentucky Virtual Art Museum. How do the renderings differ? Which looks more realistic? Paint a picture of a child or a baby. What is the hardest part about painting children?

Link

You’ll find links to articles and resources about painting the human figure, including children’s proportions, on About.com’s Figure Painting, Anatomy, and Portraiture page.
[painting.about.com/od/figuresportraits/]