Child with a Toy

1909

In the elegant interiors of his summer house, The Ledges, Howard Cushing showed his preference for linear, decorative design over academic modeling from life, even in his depiction of his wife, Ethel and son, Howard Jr. As if they were inanimate objects, he places them in niches or poses them statically; they are charming but remote. Reminiscent of the portrayal of his cousins in John Singer Sargent's The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, 1882, Cushing's family figures are often compositionally isolated within the room's architecture.

Newport/New York

Oil on canvas

frame: 35 in x 30 in; image: 30 in x 25 in

Deed of gift of the Howard G. Cushing Memorial Committee

1920.001.009