Signed lower left: Jessie Willcox Smith

The Illustrated Gallery, Fort Washington, Pennsylvania; Acquired by the present owner from the above.

Jessie Willcox Smith (American, 1863-1935) A Child's Book of Old Verses book interior, 1910 Watercolor, gouache, oil, and charcoal on board 23-3/8 x 17-3/8 inches (59.4 x 44.1 cm) Signed lower left: Jessie Willcox Smith PROVENANCE: The Illustrated Gallery, Fort Washington, Pennsylvania; Acquired by the present owner from the above. LITERATURE: A Child's Book of Old Verses, New York, 1910, illustrated. A Child's Book of Old Verses, New York, 1935, cover, illustrated. Jessie Willcox Smith is renowned for the tenderness and dignity of her illustrations of children—images that capture an understanding of childhood as a unique and significant stage of life. This understanding came into full flower during the early years of Jessie Willcox Smith's career. Economic, social, and philosophical changes through the course of the 19th century led to an ever-increasing focus on the imaginative and emotional life of children as distinct from that of adults, and thus, in the hands of writers and illustrators, to a Golden Age of Children's Literature. Novels, stories, and books of poems created explicitly for young readers helped develop and enshrine both a newly idealized, even romantic vision of childhood and, tellingly, a more accurate perception of the child's awakening life of the mind. Both impulses, the romantic and the carefully observant, are captured by Smith in works like the one offered here. The present painting first appeared as full-page plate in the 1910 children's book classic "A Child's Book of Old Verses," accompanying a poem about the solicitous relationship between a girl and her beloved cat. The work would later appear on the cover of the 1935 edition of the book, testament to its enduring power. Central to the image is the child, hair slightly tousled and stockings rumpled but clothing still unsullied white, who looks out toward the viewer while holding tightly, caressingly in her arms a black cat. The girl, sheltered beneath the leaves of a fruit-laden tree, wears a curious, yet serious expression suggestive of prescient reflection. The cat in her arms has turned away and appears to gaze into the sun-shot distance. The embowering tree, the dish of milk, the quiet and limpid shadow enveloping child and cat imply the protections of home, while the focus of the cat's gaze acts to remind the viewer that the girl's attention will necessarily also turn to the wider world soon. Subtle, moving, generous and beautiful, the work embodies Smith's eye for the hidden depths of the childhood experience. The present work is accompanied by a copy of the book A Child's Book of Old Verses, 1935. HID12401132022 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

Under UV exam, there is a small 1/4 inch dot of inpaint along the lower edge of the dress, and two horizontal lines (3 inches and 5 inches respectively) in the grass along the lower right edge. Toning to board. Framed Dimensions 30.5 X 24.5 Inches