Unidentified
Boy with a Fishing Pole
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “Boy with a Fishing Pole” now? Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor, 14B, Washington, D.C. Yes, on view now. Checked September 25, 2026.
Washington, D.C., United States
RoomLuce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor, 14B
Open now· until 7:00 PM
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
With his wide eyes, flushed cheeks, and curls, this young fellow evokes an ideal of boyhood. Childhood in the nineteenth century was seen as a too-brief stage in life, much like the fleeting moment the artist caught in this image. Boys were encouraged to exert themselves outdoors, with fishing, sledding, swimming, and ball games. An active life taught young boys to be competitive and tough, and helped them to grow into confident and successful men, a role that was not as far off as the boys might have imagined. (Mintz, Huck’s Raft: A History of American Childhood, 2004).
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Details
- Accession number
- 1973.152.2
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Image: Smithsonian American Art Museum — CC0