Art
A Boy in 1837
This portrait captures Nathaniel Olds as a young child in the 1830s. Such formal paintings were rare and precious—owning a portrait meant your family had money, and it meant your child's face was worth preserving forever.
Art
This portrait captures Nathaniel Olds as a young child in the 1830s. Such formal paintings were rare and precious—owning a portrait meant your family had money, and it meant your child's face was worth preserving forever.
Art · Full story
The boy sits perfectly still, dressed in his finest clothes, while the artist studies every detail. His dark eyes look out from the canvas with a gravity beyond his years. Parents paid good money for this moment—a permanent record of their son as he was, right now, before childhood slipped away.
Reflect
What objects do you keep to remember your family members as they were at different ages?