Hunter Museum of American Art

Analysis

"Fancy" (or fanciful) paintings of whimsical childhood scenes were popular in the early nineteenth century. Here we see a young boy playing in an adult's chair while donning a patriarch's eyeglasses and tricorner hat to "read" the newspaper. An engraving of this painting appeared in the 1830 issue of The Token, a nineteenth century gift book. A poem published with the engraving described how a young boy imitated his grandfather because he was so fascinated by his stories.