The drummer boy

Hunt, William Morris (1824-1879)

Item type:

painting

Date of creation:

1862

Height:

91.8 cm  (36 1/8 in.)

Width:

66.4 cm  (26 1/8 in.)

Technique / Medium:

oil on canvas

Description

Commentary from museum website:
Following the election of anti-slavery president Abraham Lincoln, the southern states seceded and formed the Confederate States of America. When the war began, both sides believed it could be quickly won, and patriotic feeling surged. This image, painted early in the war, shows a barefooted boy beating the drum for volunteer soldiers.

Iconclass

31D11221
boy (child between toddler and youth)
31A2511
arm raised upward
48CC7524
one person playing percussion instrument - CC - out of doors
48CC7341
drum (musical instrument) - CC - out of doors

Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)

Side drum [2729]
Beater [6071] (two)

RIdIM images

Image URLs

image link 1

Notes

Compare to the museum's sketch MFA #67.789 (RIdIM item 5966).

RIdIM record id

5967